When a medical practitioner; a doctor, nurse, hospital employee, etc makes an error in treatment or diagnosis of a disorder, it is certainly justifiable to be concerned about the impact of the mistake on the patient. Depending on a set of specific circumstances there may be sufficient reason to engage medical malpractice lawyers in Chicago and sue for damages. It is important that you understand when the error is the basis for a valid claim.
What is medical malpractice?
There is far more to medical malpractice than simply a mistake by a health care professional or hospital. There are certain elements to a viable medical malpractice case that must be established and supported by evidence and testimony, including:
* There must be a doctor-patient relationship
* The care provided was below the accepted standard of care
* A connection, no matter how casual, between the negligent act and harm to the patient, and
* There must be quantifiable harm to the patient as a result
The accepted standard of care:
The accepted standard of care is often very contentious, to prove this your medical malpractice lawyers in Chicago must:
* Based on your case, what is the appropriate standard that applies, and
* Detailing how the defendant fell short of performing up to this standard
The standard of care is the amount of skill and attention that a health care professional with the same or similar training in the same medical community would have exercised under the same conditions.
Medical negligence:
Proving the accepted standard of care is one thing, proving how it was breached is something else again. This almost always comes down to testimony from medical experts hired by your lawyer. The medical expert will provide details of the appropriate course of action that should have been followed and how the doctor failed in his or her responsibility.
Proving medical malpractice is phenomenally difficult and requires highly experienced medical malpractice lawyers in Chicago to pursue the case. You are invited to discuss your case in detail with the Law Office of Scott D. DeSalvo, LLC.
