Everyone wants what is best for themselves and their family. In the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness, people want to elevate their quality of life with strong relationships, financial stability, and physical health. One of the most effective ways to live a longer and happier life is to invest in personal wellness.

While most of your health comes down to personal choices and lifestyle, there are circumstances where others can affect your physical well-being positively or negatively. Life is full of inherent risks, and others can make mistakes that lead to you getting injured. If you are under the care of a medical professional, it is possible that their negligence could lead to an injury.

This is where medical malpractice comes into play. First, let’s define exactly what medical malpractice is and how it can happen.

What is Medical Malpractice?

The exact definition of this event in the United States is as follows: Any act or omission by a physician during treatment of a patient that deviates from accepted norms of practice in the medical community and causes an injury to the patient.

It is a rather common type of lawsuit. When you are under the care of a medical professional, you expect that their treatment will be professional and follow the norms of the discipline. After all, they have spent years learning about this subject before they even began to practice. Unfortunately, mistakes or reckless behavior can happen. A surgeon could be operating under the influence. A doctor may not perform a thorough screening and miss a potential diagnosis. A nurse could administer the wrong drug to a patient. All of these scenarios could result in serious damage or injury to the patient.

Common Types of Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

When you are the victim of medical malpractice, you have the right to pursue compensation for any damages suffered via a lawsuit. You will need to build a case and provide evidence that the medical professional’s negligence caused your injury and resulted in further losses such as medical bills or lost income. Here are a few situations that often lead to successful claims.

Wrong Diagnosis

When people get screened or checked for various health conditions, it is reasonable to expect a correct diagnosis. However, for a variety of reasons, a physician could name the wrong diagnosis, also known as a misdiagnosis, leading to incorrect and ineffective treatment plans that fail to solve the real issue. This can lead to worsening health and wasted money, which victims have the right to pursue in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Prescription Errors

Another form of medical malpractice is the failure to prescribe or administer the correct drug to a patient. Maybe the doctor makes a mistake when writing the prescription and you end up receiving the wrong drug. If you have a loved one in a senior care facility, a staff member could fail to administer prescriptions to the resident at the time that they need. You could also receive the wrong medicine while at the hospital for a procedure. Whatever the cause, incorrect prescriptions being given or administered can lead to a lawsuit if victims are injured.

Birth Injuries

This type of lawsuit is common since birth is such a complicated process. If the medical staff attending to the mother and baby make a mistake or are behaving recklessly, both parties could be at risk. For example, traumas experienced during birth are sometimes associated with causing cerebral palsy in the baby. The medical costs and emotional distress that result from this incident would provide grounds for the victim to pursue compensation for damages.

Failure to Treat

If a patient is known to have a condition or injury, but the medical professional does not treat them according to expected standards for whatever reason, the victim could sue for damages. It could also occur if a patient is discharged from the hospital or care facility before they have received the necessary amount of care.

These lawsuits are meant to protect victims from experiencing further trauma, cover their losses if they do, and hold negligent medical professionals accountable for their actions.

Know Your Rights in a Medical Malpractice Case

Since these laws are in place to protect victims and help them get back on their feet after an injury caused by negligent medical professionals, you must understand your rights in these cases. The wisest solution is to work with an attorney who specializes in medical malpractice lawsuits and can protect your interests and help you build your case. This will give you the best chance of winning a fair settlement that will cover your financial losses after the injury occurs. If you think you may be the victim of medical malpractice and have suffered as a result, contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.