Nashville Medical Malpractice Attorneys

How Medical Malpractice Happens

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional deviates from the accepted standard of care, resulting in harm to a patient. It involves negligence or improper conduct by medical practitioners, such as doctors, nurses, or other healthcare providers.

Medical malpractice can take many forms, such as:

• Surgical Errors: Mistakes made during surgery, such as performing the wrong procedure, leaving surgical instruments inside the patient, or operating on the wrong body part.
• Diagnostic Errors: Incorrect or delayed diagnosis of a medical condition, which can lead to inappropriate treatment or a worsening of the patient's condition. This includes misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, or delayed diagnosis.
• Medication Errors: Errors involving prescription, dosage, or administration of medication. This can include prescribing the wrong medication, incorrect dosage, or failing to account for drug interactions.
• Birth Injuries: Injuries sustained by a baby or mother during childbirth due to negligence. This may include improper use of forceps, failure to monitor fetal distress, or neglecting to perform a timely cesarean section.
• Anesthesia Errors: Mistakes related to anesthesia administration, such as incorrect dosage, failure to monitor the patient properly, or failure to review the patient’s medical history.
• Emergency Room Mistakes: Errors that occur in emergency settings, often due to rushed decisions or miscommunication. This can involve misdiagnosis, improper treatment, or failure to follow up on test results.
• Failure to Obtain Informed Consent: When a patient is not adequately informed about the risks, benefits, and alternatives of a treatment or procedure, leading to an outcome that they would have otherwise refused.
• Negligent Medical Procedures: Mistakes in the performance of medical procedures, including incorrect techniques or failure to follow proper protocols.
• Failure to Follow Up: Negligence in following up with patients after initial treatment, which can result in missed diagnoses or worsening conditions.

Don’t convince yourself that your case must not involve medical malpractice because it “never happens.” A Johns Hopkins University study from 2016 determined that medical errors cause or contribute to about 250,000 preventable deaths in the country each year. If you think that your medical provider did something wrong and you suffered for it, then you should start exploring your legal options.

The bottom line is that there are so many ways that medical care can go wrong. You should never assume that you don’t have a case because your situation seems unusual or innocuous. Leave that up to our legal professionals to decide.

Who Can Be Held Liable for Medical Malpractice?

In medical malpractice cases, liability can be attributed to various parties depending on the circumstances. Here's a breakdown of potential liable parties:

• Doctors and Surgeons: They are the primary parties in medical malpractice cases. If a physician fails to provide the standard of care expected in their field, resulting in harm to the patient, they can be held liable. This includes errors in diagnosis, treatment, or surgical procedures.
• Nurses: Nurses, including nurse practitioners and registered nurses, can be held liable if their actions or omissions fall below the standard of care. This might include errors in medication administration, patient monitoring, or other aspects of patient care.
• Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities: Hospitals can be held liable for the negligence of their employees under the doctrine of vicarious liability. Additionally, if a hospital fails to maintain proper safety protocols, staff qualifications, or sanitation, it can be found liable.
• Pharmacists: If a pharmacist makes an error in dispensing medication, such as giving the wrong drug or dosage, they can be held liable for any resulting harm.
• Medical Technicians: Technicians who perform diagnostic tests, such as radiologists, lab technicians, or ultrasound technicians, can be held liable if they fail to accurately perform tests or report results.
• Medical Device Manufacturers: If a medical device malfunctions or causes harm due to a defect in design, manufacturing, or labeling, the manufacturer can be held liable.
• Other Healthcare Providers: This includes physical therapists, chiropractors, and other specialized providers. They can be held liable if their actions fall below the accepted standard of care in their respective fields.

Four Basic Elements of Medical Malpractice

For a medical malpractice claim to gain traction in court, it must include and prove:

• Duty of care: The medical professional must have owed the plaintiff a duty of care as established in a doctor-patient relationship. Essentially, the medical professional must follow standards of medical care that others would.
• Deviation: The defendant must have deviated from the duty of care owed to the patient. If the medical provider – be it a doctor, nurse, surgeon, pharmacist, etc. – acts in a way that another reasonable medical professional would not have in that same situation, then a deviation has likely occurred.
• Direct causation: The deviation in the care owed to the patient must be the cause of the patient’s injury. If the deviation causes no measurable harm, then there is likely no medical malpractice case.
• Damages: Lastly, the harm that the patient has suffered must have caused some sort of damage to them, such as increased hospital bills and physical pain. If all other elements are proven, then it is usually the least trouble to prove that damages have occurred.

It is important to note that not liking the outcome of a medical treatment is not grounds for filing a medical malpractice claim. Even if you are hurt during a medical procedure, it does not guarantee that medical malpractice has occurred. It takes a careful investigation from professional attorneys and third-party experts to get to the truth in most cases.

Start Today with a Free Case Evaluation

The Roth Firm, LLC and our Nashville medical malpractice attorneys can help you understand and utilize your rights if you were hurt while receiving medical care. We are proud to stand up for injured and mistreated patients in our communities. Taking on major insurance companies and defense teams that protect medical providers is part of the routine at our firm, but we still give each case completely personalized attention.

Find out more about our services by contacting us online.