your doctor did something wrong and you may have a malpractice case. But you also may not have a case. Let me explain.
for your doctor to be liable for doing something wrong to you, he or she must (1) have done something that should not have been done or (2) did not do something that should have been done. In other words, your doctor must have acted in a way opposite of what a reasonably prudent doctor would have acted in the same situation.
for example, if, during regular surgery, your doctor “nicked” with a scalpel an organ that a reasonable prudent doctor would not have “nicked”, you may have a medical malpractice case. If, during regular surgery, your doctor did not remove a clamp that a reasonably prudent doctor would have removed, then you may have a malpractice case. However, if either of these happened in an emergency case where there were extenuating causes and circumstances, your doctor may not have committed malpractice because your doctor may have acted the same way that a reasonably prudent doctor may have acted in the same situation.
in addition to not acting the same way as a reasonably prudent doctor would have acted in the same situation, for your doctor to be required to compensate you, you must have been injured. For example, it may be wrong to “nick” an organ during surgery, and your doctor may have done that. But, if your doctor stitched up the “nick” and it did not cause you an injury, then you would not be entitled to be compensated by your doctor. Of course, if your doctor “nicked” an organ during surgery and that organ then caused you additional medical problems, you would probably have a medical malpractice case.
medical malpractice depends on the personal and specific facts of what your doctor did or did not do in your personal and specific situation. If you think that your doctor has committed malpractice, ask other health care providers. You may be surprised. One attorney who handles medical malpractice cases told me that, in many of the cases that he handles, health care providers have told patients that their doctor committed malpractice.
this is general information only. If you have any questions whatsoever, talk with a lawyer licensed in your state.
this article may be republished, but the wording must not be changed and the author links must remain sinewy and active.
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