It's always upsetting when you have a bad outcome after being treated medically. Of course, sometimes these outcomes are unavoidable. Medicine can't heal everything, and sometimes even the best care isn't enough. But sometimes, poor outcomes are due to negligence or medical malpractice. How can you tell the difference? A Baltimore, MD medical malpractice lawyer offers some tips.
Ask a Baltimore, MD Medical Malpractice Lawyer: How to Determine If a Poor Outcome Is Due to Medical Malpractice or Known Risks
Do You Suspect the Standard of Care Wasn't Followed?
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional deviates from the accepted standard of care, resulting in harm to the patient. The standard of care refers to what a reasonably competent healthcare provider would do under similar circumstances. To prove malpractice, it must be shown that the provider's actions were not only below the standard but also directly caused the injury or harm. The first step is asking yourself whether you have any reason to suspect the care was not up to snuff.
Did You Give Informed Consent?
Every medical procedure carries inherent risks, and those have to be communicated to the patient before treatment. This process is known as informed consent. During informed consent, the healthcare provider explains the potential benefits, risks, and alternatives of the proposed treatment. By agreeing to the procedure, the patient acknowledges understanding and accepting these risks. If your outcome seems wildly different from anything that was mentioned during consent, your doctor may have failed to obtain informed consent properly, which is a form of malpractice.
Proving Medical Malpractice
To prove for a claim that a poor outcome is due to medical malpractice, several key factors must be shown. The primary question is whether the healthcare provider deviated from the accepted standard of care.
There must also be a direct link between the provider's deviation and the patient's injury. This means proving that the harm would not have occurred if the provider had adhered to the standard of care. Proper documentation and clear communication between the healthcare provider and patient are part of informed consent, so if the provider failed to document key information or did not adequately communicate the risks, it might indicate malpractice. Click here to learn more.
Common Scenarios and Examples
Surgical Error
A patient undergoes surgery and suffers a complication that was a known risk. However, upon review, it is found that the surgeon operated on the wrong site. This is a clear deviation from the standard of care and constitutes malpractice.
Medication Error
A patient is prescribed medication but experiences severe side effects. If the side effects were a known risk and the provider informed the patient, it may not be malpractice. However, if the provider prescribed the wrong dosage or the wrong medication, it could be considered malpractice.
Delayed Diagnosis
A patient reports symptoms that suggest a serious condition, but the healthcare provider fails to order appropriate tests, leading to a delayed diagnosis. If this delay results in harm, it may be malpractice due to the failure to meet the standard of care. However, if the patient didn't report all of his or her symptoms, this could have misled the healthcare provider and caused them to investigate in the wrong direction, in which case it is not malpractice.
In Maryland, the legal process for pursuing a malpractice claim includes pre-litigation steps designed to encourage resolution without a trial, but these cases are always hard to win. Without legal help, most people are not able to win, even if their case seems strong. Your safest course of action is to contact a qualified local lawyer as soon as possible.
