When you go to the doctor, you expect them not to make any mistakes. You are trusting them with your health. They owe you a duty of care, and you anticipate that they will uphold it.
But mistakes do happen. For instance, perhaps it is a loved one who goes to the hospital for surgery. They pass away during the procedure.
The doctor claims that they did everything they could and that it is simply an unfortunate outcome. But you believe that it’s a clear example of medical malpractice because your loved one never should have died during a routine surgery.
Was negligence involved?
Doctors are not expected to be perfect. They do make mistakes, or they just face negative outcomes – like a patient passing away – even though they haven’t made any clear errors. There will not be a positive outcome in every single case. Even the best that modern medicine has to offer can’t guarantee the survival of all patients.
The key, then is whether or not the doctor was negligent. If they offered substandard care and made negligent errors leading to the passing, for instance, it may be an example of medical malpractice. Maybe the doctor was reckless or careless during the procedure. Maybe they used unapproved surgical tactics, or perhaps they were even under the influence at the time. These are all examples of negligence that could mean you have a malpractice case.
But this can lead to disputes, such as a situation where you claim malpractice has occurred and the medical center and insurance company claim it was just an unfortunate outcome. If you are involved in one of these disputes, you need to know about your legal options.