When you don’t feel well, you trust your doctor to provide care in your best interest. However, what if their mistake or neglect results in a dangerous or life-threatening situation? This can be the case for many people, and harm from medical negligence occurs every day. Patients who experienced this lack of care may suffer from complications for the rest of their life. If you or a loved one is a victim, you are not alone in your case. Patients should never have to worry about their doctor causing additional harm. Victims of medical neglect in Lake Ariel, PA, can receive legal help from our team at Latona Law. We believe that all nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals should be held accountable for their actions, or lack of action.
How to Determine Medical Negligence
Proving medical negligence is an incredibly tricky endeavor. Just because a doctor makes a mistake doesn’t mean it was intentionally negligent. A trained lawyer is needed to determine if neglect was involved in the accident. Medical experts will also be brought in to help evaluate whether someone was negligent towards the patient. At Latona Law, our medical negligence lawyer in Lake Ariel, PA, has the necessary resources to investigate your case thoroughly, so you can be awarded the compensation you deserve.
The following five things must be true to have grounds for a medical negligence case:
Doctor-Patient Relationship – You need to prove that you had an established relationship with the doctor, nurse, or other professionals in question and that they had agreed to treat you.
Duty of Care – Medical professionals are required by law to treat patients with a “standard of care” that fits the situation. A competent medical professional with a similar background will need to agree or disagree that they would have acted in the same way for that situation.
Breach of Duty – When a medical professional provides treatment below the standard of care the patient should have received, it is considered a breach of duty.
Causation – You must prove that the actions of the medical professional directly caused harm, injury, or in severe cases, death.
Damages – You will need to prove that the harm you suffered caused damages. This can include financial costs such as medical bills or non-financial damages, like loss of employment.
Most Common Types of Medical Negligence
The results of medical negligence can be devastating. Unfortunately, it can happen during any treatment or procedure, though some types of negligence occur more often than others.
Anesthesia Errors
One of the most dangerous types of medical negligence involves errors when administrating anesthesia. If a patient receives too much, it can cause brain damage. Too little anesthesia can cause a patient to be awake during their procedure. Even the equipment can cause injury if it is faulty or damaged.
Diagnosis Errors
Misdiagnosis is another common form of medical neglect. If a patient is not correctly examined or listened to, they could be diagnosed with the incorrect condition. This can result in their actual condition to worsen, as well as undergoing unnecessary or improper treatment. Depending on the severity of the misdiagnosis, the patient could experience harm that could have easily been avoided.
Prescription Errors
Prescription errors happen frequently, and the wrong medication can wreak havoc on a patient’s system or condition. The doctor in question may fill out the wrong medication or wrong dosage on the prescription. This could also be the result of a diagnosis error. A patient may also be administered the wrong medication in the hospital or doctor’s office while being treated on-site.
Surgical Errors
Errors that happen during surgery are often referred to as “never events.” This is because they are occurrences that should never have to happen as long as adequate care is provided. Surgical errors include surgeons operating on the wrong area of the body, or even the wrong patients. In other cases, surgical equipment is left inside of the body after the procedure.
Medical Negligence Damages.
Not only will you be suffering from pain and stress due to medical neglect, but you may also experience financial pressure as well. It is not right for someone to live with constant financial burdens all because of someone else’s carelessness. Regain control over your life and receive the compensation you deserve with help from Latona Law. Our experienced law firm in Lake Ariel, PA, will help you obtain compensation for financial and emotional damages.
Below are just some of the damages you could be compensated for:
- Emotional pain and suffering
- Loss of a spouse
- Decreased quality of life
- Lost wages
- Physical pain
- Medical bills
Trust the Team at Latona Law
Many nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals are equipped with their own legal team in the event of a medical negligence case. When taking legal action, you need a team that is fully-equipped to take on your case. Our knowledge, experience, and resources allow us to gather what is required to win your case. We are prepared to fight for the victims of medical negligence in Lake Ariel, PA, and the justice they deserve.
Medical negligence can cause stress for victims and their families. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation to review your case.