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Medical Malpractice

Doctors, nurses and other health care providers spend a great deal of time learning how to treat a great variety of illnesses and physical maladies. As a group they are professionals dedicated to helping alleviate the ailments that can plague mankind. Unfortunately, health care providers can also make mistakes. When mistakes are made the effects can be devastating. In fact, according to the National Academy of Sciences, approximately 98,000 Americans die from "medical mistakes" each year.

Medical malpractice is a form of negligence involving a medical treatment provider. If someone is injured as a result of a treatment provider's digression from the standard of care, that treater may be liable for the injury that has occurred. The determination of whether a medical professional has met the standard of care is based on a comparison to other professionals in the same field and the same geographical region. In other words, what would a reasonably competent medical professional practicing in the same field as the defendant, and in the same area of the defendant, do under the circumstances that the defendant was facing with respect to care and treatment of the patient?

Medical malpractice does not occur every time there is a bad outcome from treatment. It is simply a duty to provide good care according to the accepted standards of the community and/or the accepted standards of a particular medical specialty. The law generally recognizes the practice of medicine as an "art" rather than as an exact science. Therefore, some latitude is given to practitioners with respect to the manner in which they choose to address the problems of specific patients.

More Information

Cerebral Palsy Emergency Room Errors Failure to Diagnose Cancer Failure to Diagnose Heart Attack Lasik Medical Malpractice Damages Needle Stick Nursing Home Abuse Surgical Mistakes Types of Medical Malpractice Personal Injury Damages Types of Damages Types of Compensatory Damages Amount of Damages Factors Affecting Amount of Damages Awarded Negligence Overview Comparative and Contributory Negligence

Resources

Lectric Law Library Lawcopedia's: Medical Malpractice New England Journal of Medicine Agency for Quality Health Care and Research Anatomy of the Human Body Workers Compensation Agencies National Library of Medicine Physician Profiles - Healthcare Choices AMA - Physician Sheet Health Grade - Hospital Report Cards Merck Manual of Diagnosis & Therapy Merck Manual of Medical Information National Health Law Program HealthTouch.com - Prescription Drug Information MedExplorer.com Medical Abbreviations Medical Dictionaries