Medical malpractice occurs when a medical provider acts below the standard of care during a medical treatment causing injury to the patient. The “standard of care” is the accepted standard recognized by other health care providers in the same field of medicine under similar circumstances. The following is a list of some conducts that falls “below the standard of care:

· Failing to remove a sponge or other article after surgery
· Failing to diagnose a tumor and or cancer while reading an x-ray
· Improperly performing surgery or a procedure
· Failing to properly administer anesthesia
· Negligently caring for an elderly patient
· Failing to properly deliver a baby, resulting in cerebral palsy or other brain damage
· Failing to care properly for the mother before or during delivery
· Puncturing a nearby organ or tissue during surgery
· Failing to diagnose a condition in time to treat it properly
· Failing to refer a case to a medical specialist
· Prescribing incorrect medication
· Incorrect diagnosis that results in a failure to treat a medical condition
· Failing to order necessary and appropriate medical tests
· Emergency room negligence

The following are some medical providers that can be held accountable for medical malpractice: physicians and nurses, hospitals and clinics, nursing homes, chiropractors, HMOs and PPOs, home health providers, dentists, pharmacists and rehabilitation facilities.

Although most medical providers try their best to provide proper care, mistakes are still made by medical providers, resulting in thousands of injuries per year. If you have undergone any medical treatment that you believe was conducted negligently and caused injury to you or your family, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and as such, you should to obtain qualified legal counsel immediately.

Medical malpractice law is extremely complicated in many aspects and different than other personal injury cases. For example, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice is one year, as opposed to two years for other personal injury cases. In addition, unlike other personal injury cases, the insured parties such as the doctors are very hesitant to settle such cases because any settlement above $30,000 is reported to the medical board and can have negative implications on their ability to practice medicine. It is essential that you contact us immediately for a free consultation to protect your rights.