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Medical malpractice refers to a legal cause of action arising from a broad range of medical errors, abuse, and negligence. These errors can occur in treatment from all types of health care providers, including hospitals, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. Medical errors can lead to devastating injuries that have a permanent impact on your life.
You may be unable to return to work, support your family, or engage in activities that you previously enjoyed. Fortunately, a dedicated personal injury attorney may be able to help you file a medical malpractice lawsuit against all potentially responsible parties. If you suffered injuries as a result of healthcare error, a Lancaster medical malpractice lawyer may be able to help you seek compensation for your losses.
What Constitutes Medical Malpractice?
All medical professionals have a legal duty to reasonably act per the standards of their profession. When their behavior falls below the standard of care that another medical professional would provide in a similar situation, injured patients may have a cause of action for medical malpractice under South Carolina law. Medical malpractice can involve the steps that a provider took to treat a patient or a failure to treat and care for a patient properly.
Medical malpractice is a highly complex and technical area of the law. As a result, independent medical professionals often must review a potential claim to determine its merit. A local medical malpractice lawyer in Lancaster could help victims organize their evidence and the medical experts needed to prove a claim.
What are the Common Types of Medical Errors?
Misconduct that rises to the level of medical malpractice can occur in many situations. However, some scenarios more commonly lead to malpractice claims than others, including diagnostic errors, surgical errors, and errors in prescribing, ordering, and administering medication.
Diagnostic Errors
Doctors have a duty to treat the entire patient, not just the specific symptom or condition about which they are complaining. Unfortunately, some health care providers spend too little time with their patients and fail to accurately diagnose problems. When doctors miss a severe medical condition or wrongfully diagnose a problem in their patients, their negligence may constitute medical malpractice.
Surgical Errors
The negligence of doctors, nurses, and surgeons can all lead to catastrophic injuries. In some cases, physicians have operated on the wrong limb, removed the wrong organ, or even operated on the wrong patient. Similarly, negligence may lead to surgeons leaving instruments inside patients, damaging other organs or tissues, or using unsanitary medical devices that result in infection.
Medication Errors
A wide range of healthcare providers can commit medication errors, including nurses, pharmacists, doctors, and medical assistants. Doctors may fail to check for interactions between medications, or nurses may administer incorrect dosages. As a nearby medical malpractice attorney may advise, any of these situations could be grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Contact a Lancaster Medical Malpractice Attorney for Legal Assistance
Medical malpractice can cause profound injuries to patients that can cause permanent impairment and alter the course of their lives. If the negligence of a healthcare professional lead to your injuries, you have the right to seek compensation for your losses with the help of a Lancaster medical malpractice lawyer.
In the case of fatalities from medical malpractice, surviving family members may be able to pursue wrongful death suits under South Carolina law. As a result, individuals should not hesitate to seek legal counsel to hold healthcare providers accountable and seek justice for their loved ones.