Medical Malpractice
According to the Institute of Medicine, in its publication entitled "To Error is Human: Building a Safer Health System ", more than 90,000 Americans die every year because of medical mistakes. In fact, according the National Academies of Science, medical errors kill some 44,000 people in U.S. hospitals each year. Another study puts the number much higher, at 98,000. Even using the lower estimate, more people die from medical mistakes each year than from highway accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS.
Moreover, while errors may be more easily detected in hospitals, they afflict every health care setting: day-surgery and outpatient clinics, retail pharmacies, nursing homes, as well as home care. Deaths from medication errors that take place both in and out of hospitals - more than 7,000 annually - exceed those from workplace injuries.
he term "Medical Malpractice" simply means that a health care provider, whether it's a physician, nurse, or other health care professional, was negligent by not doing something he should have or doing something he should not have done. The appropriate conduct is called the "standard of care." A health care provider is guilty of medical malpractice when his conduct falls below the standard of care. The examples of substandard conduct are too numerous to list here, but the following are common examples often encountered in our practice:
- a radiologist fails to identify a cancerous lesion;
- an obstetrician fails to appreciate that a fetus is in distress and fails to expedite the delivery;
- a family practitioner fails to send his patient for tests to rule out cancer;
- a surgeon fails to identify and treat a complication following surgery;
- a pathologist fails to identify cancer on a slide;
- an orthopedic surgeon mis-sets a broken bone; or
- an emergency room physician fails to diagnose a patient's heart attack in the ER.
When a patient or family member asks Litster Injury Lawyers to look into their case, we undertake an investigation to determine whether that person or family has a valid malpractice claim. In doing so, we must answer the following questions: a) whether the health care provider breached the standard of care; and b) if so, whether that malpractice caused a serious injury or death. We use our resources and experience, including our staff nurse, to determine whether there is a valid significant claim. If so, we will aggressively prosecute the claim, seeking to settle the claim if appropriate, or to try the case in court if necessary.
If you would like to talk with a representative about a medical malpractice claim, as well as what your claim could be worth, please fill in the form below, or dial (208) 375-9392, toll-free 1-800-INJURED.
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