Medical Malpractice: What Is It?

A person harmed by medical malpractice is rightfully upset because it involves a party you expected to trust with your care and health causing you significant harm because of their negligence. Not only that, medical malpractice is one of the more complicated areas of law because of the many legal complications that come with it.

Nobody should ever have to go through this type of situation, but it does happen. For anyone who has ever been affected by medical negligence, it's important to understand how the law looks at medical malpractice, what actions can be considered part of it, and the rights of patients who sustain harm as a result.

How Does the Law Define Medical Malpractice and How Do I Prove It?

Medical malpractice is defined by law as any act performed by a medical professional or medical facility that is outside the medical standard of care and that causes a patient harm or results in a patient being severely injured. This can also include inactions of the medical facility (e.g., failing to provide sufficient security and a patient being a victim of assault).

Medical malpractice can include the following actions:

• Emergency room errors: Failing to provide proper testing or diagnosis, failing to provide care in a timely manner, etc.
• Surgical errors: Performing surgical procedures on the wrong patient or wrong body part, leaving objects inside of a patient, etc.
• Anesthesia errors: Supplying too little anesthesia resulting in the patient feeling the procedure, or too much anesthesia resulting in problems
• Misdiagnosis: Diagnosing a patient incorrectly resulting in them either receiving unnecessary treatment or not receiving the correct treatment for their condition
• Prescription errors: Prescribing the wrong medication or dosage of medication leading to overdose, allergic reaction, or other problems

With medical malpractice, proving liability usually involves testimony of an expert in the medical field who can reliably describe how the patient's care fell below the standard of medical care for the given procedure. It must be shown that the doctor did something that is a breach of their duty to provide proper care. The negligence must be shown to have resulted in some kind of error and the error must be shown as the cause of injury.

How Serious of a Problem Is Medical Malpractice?

A few years ago, there were numerous reports regarding medical errors standing as the third-leading cause of death. This goes to show just how serious these types of actions are and why it is so imperative for individuals who sustain harm to take legal action against those responsible for the negligence.

Stepping up and taking action against a negligent medical professional gives you the opportunity to not only protect your rights, but help you pursue compensation and justice. You can force the medical professional and facility to improve their quality standards and prevent others from running into the same fate.

At The Edwards Law Firm, we have been helping medical malpractice victims for more than 55 years. We know what it takes to build a strong case on our client's behalf and work to hold the medical professional or facility fully accountable for the injuries sustained—including the pursuit of compensation to pay for additional medical expenses, pain and suffering, and more.

Trust in our Corpus Christi medical malpractice lawyers to advocate your needs and best interests from start to finish. We'll be by your side every step of the way with a focus on securing the most favorable outcome because you need it—and you deserve it.

Our team is here and ready to stand up on your behalf. To discuss your potential case in a free consultation and learn how we may be able to help you in your time of need, give us a call at 361-698-7600 and speak with us about your options.