How Do I Know If My Injury Counts as Medical Malpractice?
Being injured at the hands of a medical professional can be confusing. You went to that doctor or other professional for help and walked away with a worsened condition, an additional injury or another similar issue. While it can be hard to deal with this frustrating medical mistake Baltimore MD, there is hope in the possibility of compensation. How do you know if your injury would be considered medical malpractice?
There Is a Doctor-Patient Relationship
The first thing you need to ask yourself is whether a doctor-patient relationship exists. Often, you know the answer and the doctor knows the answer, but the court doesn’t know the answer without proof. To show that this relationship exists, you need to provide proof that you are indeed a patient, which is often easy to do with a medical bill or a document you signed in the office on your first visit. If your friend is a doctor and gave you advice over the backyard fence, you couldn’t prove that doctor-patient relationship.
The Doctor Acted Negligently
Not every medical case that ends unpleasantly is going to qualify as medical malpractice. Sometimes a doctor provides a treatment that you don’t like, but that doesn’t make it negligence.
For example, if a doctor conducts a thorough examination and concludes that a topical cream might be best for your skin condition, but you don’t like how clammy it makes your skin, that probably wouldn’t be negligence if any other medical professional would have come to the same conclusion. If a doctor mistakenly prescribes a topical cream that is for another condition, however, and you have a negative reaction to it, that could be considered negligence if it’s not reasonable that any other doctor would do the same.
The Negligence Caused Your Injury
You can’t claim compensation if you had a pre-existing condition that you are now trying to blame on your doctor. You have to provide proof that the doctor’s negligent medical mistake Baltimore MD caused your injury. For example, if your doctor was casting a broken arm, it would probably have nothing to do with you having a heart attack the next day. However, if the doctor gave you a medication to help with the pain of that broken arm, and you shouldn’t have been given that particular medication because of an existing heart condition, the doctor’s negligence likely caused your injury.
Your Injury Led to Damages
There needs to be damages that you should recover for you to have a medical malpractice case. Some of those damages could include medical costs, physical pain, lost wages, mental anguish and similar expenses.
Contacting a Lawyer
If you suffered injuries due to a medical mistake Baltimore MD, contact our attorneys immediately. Cohen & Cohen has settled more than 10,000 cases since 1993, and we can help get you the compensation you deserve. Contact us today (202) 955-4529 for a free case evaluation.
