Posted By Steven Langer
A recent study in the Journal of Patient Safety suggests that preventable medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States—a pretty startling statistic. How do patients know if they have a malpractice claim?
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor or other healthcare professional doesn’t follow adequate standards of care that results in a preventable injury. Given the criteria, these cases are often complex and require expert opinions to prove the claim. Attorneys who specialize in medical malpractice cases can analyze your claim to see if the physician violated adequate standards of care.
In Indiana, a doctor or other healthcare provider must act as a reasonably careful, skillful and prudent healthcare provider would under the same or similar circumstances. Medical malpractice may consist of:
- Doing what the healthcare provider should not have done under the circumstances, or
- Not doing what the healthcare provider should have done under the circumstances.
In addition, the medical error must have caused identifiable injury to you—the patient. This means the negligence must be a cause of your injuries. In addition, due to the nature of laws pertaining to medical malpractice claims in the state of Indiana and the length of time it may take to pursue a claim, many attorneys may only handle claims that involve permanent or serious injuries.
If you or your loved one is a victim of medical errors, it may seem obvious that the health provider’s error warrants compensation to the victim. However, the reality is that medical malpractice cases are some of the most complex cases to resolve. At the end of the day, the more you know and understand about the full scope of your possible case, the better.
The attorneys of Langer & Langer serve clients throughout Indiana. Feel free to contact our offices if you have further questions about medical malpractice and its laws in Indiana.