Medical Malpractice - An Overview
When illness or injury forces you to see a physician or go to the hospital, you can generally be assured that the doctor's years of experience and training will result in excellent treatment of your ailment. But in truth, physicians are only human and as such, errors are always possible. Medical malpractice occurs when a negligent act or omission by a doctor or other medical professional results in damage or harm to a patient.
Negligence by a medical professional could include an error in a diagnosis, treatment, or illness management. If such negligence results in injury to a patient, a case could arise against the doctor if his or her actions deviated from generally accepted standards of practice; against the hospital for improper care, such as problems with medications, sanitation or nursing care; or against local, state or federal agencies that operate hospital facilities.
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Understanding Informed Consent
In many situations where medical care or treatment is provided to an individual, medical professionals are required to obtain the patient's "informed consent." Although the specific definition of informed consent may vary from state to state, it means essentially that a physician (or other medical provider) must tell a patient all of the potential benefits, risks, and alternatives involved in any surgical procedure, medical procedure, or other course of treatment, and must obtain the patient's written consent to proceed.
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Responsible Parties in Medical Malpractice Actions
Medical malpractice is not limited to medical doctors. It applies also to nurses, dentists, osteopaths, health care facilities, and others providing health care services, such as nursing homes.
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Prescription Medications: Things You Should Know
While prescription medications have enabled us to overcome or cure illnesses that were often fatal only decades ago, prescription medications can also be confusing, dangerous, and expensive. The following contains information on how to read prescriptions, how to take them, and how to respect them.
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Res Ipsa Loquitur
Establishing wrongdoing on the part of a health care provider is often difficult. It requires the hiring of experts, in the same field as the health care professional being charged with misconduct, who must testify as to what the defendant should have done under applicable professional standards. Since medical organizations generally discourage those in the medical professions from testifying against one another, it is difficult to find experts who have the integrity to come forward and testify as to misconduct by one of their peers. In addition, many insurance companies providing coverage to health care providers require that they not testify against other providers who are insured by the same company.
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Medical Malpractice Resource Links
American Medical Association
Special patient section dedicated to helping patients find a wealth of information that will help them lead healthy lives and become active participants in their health care from nutritional and fitness articles to content about specific medical diseases and conditions.
CDC Health Topic
Injuries From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Features information on accident causes and prevention, traffic fatalities, drowning, falls, and more.
Division of Quality Assurance
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Links to National Practitioner Data Bank and the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank.
DrugIntel
A comprehensive pharmaceutical information and medical product liability website.
The Food And Drug Law Institute
Examines the laws, regulations, and policies related to drugs, medical devices, other health care technologies, and foods.
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