Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is what happens when a medical professional harms a patient. This happens when they fail to do their medical duties correctly. If the care does not meet the accepted standard of practice, and causes injury to a patient, it could mean medical malpractice. If you faced mistreatment or harmful errors, speak to a Connecticut medical malpractice lawyer.
Responsibilities to Residents
A nursing home has many responsibilities towards residents. One responsibility is to make sure that residents’ medical needs are fulfilled. The home has an obligation to care for their residents and give them medical attention. Unfortunately, this responsibility is not always a priority. Some homes might face a staffing issue. This can result in medical malpractice. If the staff is going through things too fast, a mistake can happen and end up as malpractice. The law is that medical malpractice in a nursing home is not acceptable. There have been some cases of this in nursing homes including:
- Errors in prescription drugs. This includes the failure to check for deadly drug interactions. It also includes failing to give medication at the right time.
- Staff had poor training.
- Abuse of medical restraints.
- Making arrangements for doctors or nurses to attend to patients has not happened.
- Patients stated medical concerns have been ignored.
These things are medical malpractice and have led to several neglect and abuse lawsuits.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is common in the U.S. and causes around 160,000 deaths each year. This is not all from malpractice in nursing homes, but a part of that does occur in a nursing home. A majority of these claims came from diagnostic errors. Make sure that if your loved one gets diagnosed with something while in a home that it was not a mistake. If your loved one gets diagnosed incorrectly, the staff could give unnecessary treatment. This could lead to further medical problems.
Making a Medical Negligence Claim
Medical malpractice is most successful when:
- There is a failure to provide a proper standard of care. Patients have a right to expect these standards of care when they get treated. If the standards are not met, it could have been negligence.
- An injury was the result of negligence. You can’t make a claim if injury didn’t occur. They have to prove that negligence caused their injury due to negligence.
- The patient’s injury must have damaging consequences. If the injury was not very bad, they might spend more money on the lawsuit than the medical bills.
- Informed consent. If a patient does not give a doctor informed consent to perform a medical procedure, the doctor may be liable for the results of the procedure. if they end in harm or injury even if the procedure was carried out with no flaws.
These things must be met to make a claim of medical malpractice. If you decide to file a medical malpractice case, you need to prove the previous four things. This case will be to repair the damages that came from the harm of your loved one. If the harm was low, it might not be in your best interest to file a lawsuit.
Call a Connecticut Medical Negligence Attorney
Medical malpractice in nursing homes is a big problem for the residents. They might be there to get help from professionals and it ends up not exactly how they expected it. The amount of medical malpractice in nursing homes is unacceptable. Research the home to see if this has happened to a previous resident before you decide to put your loved one there. Call a Connecticut medical malpractice lawyer to learn more.