Medical Malpractice Claims
A Short Summary Of Medical Malpractice Claims
One major area within health care law is medical malpractice, which is professional misconduct or lack of skill in providing medical treatment or services. The victims of medical malpractice seek compensation for their physical or emotional injuries, or both, through medical malpractice claims.
A physician can be found liable for medical malpractice if the patient can establish that there was in fact a patient-physician relationship and that the physician’s violation of the standard of care was the cause of the injury. Medical malpractice claims can extend to hospitals and even to health maintenance organisations. In the case of severe injuries, this can provide a patient with an additional source of compensation.
When are medical malpractices claims valid?
- If you can show the following, then you may have a claim:
- The treatment received was less than the level of normal care;
- that injury or damage has been suffered; and
- the lack of care caused that damage.
To avoid losing your right to claim or sue for damages, you and your medical law lawyer must act quickly. There are time limits that apply to medical malpractice claims. If you think in any case that you have a claim then you should contact a medical law lawyer as soon as possible. The medical law is very complex and any potential claim must be investigated thoroughly.
Medical malpractice claims fall into the following categories:
- Misdiagnosis
- Failure to diagnose in time
- Surgical error
- Failure to follow up with treatment
- Failure to treat in a timely manner
- Anaesthesia error
- Medication or prescription error
If you or your loved ones suspect that you might have a medical malpractice claim on your hands due to the negligence of a medial practitioner, don’t hesitate to contact Adele van der Walt Incorporated for expert advice.
For more information on this subject, please give us a call at 012 460 3668 (SA) or e-mail us at clare@avdw.co.za
