Upper Marlboro Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Doctors are not supposed to injure their patients; they are supposed to heal their wounds and treat their illnesses. Unfortunately, sometimes doctors and other medical practitioners make mistakes, and those mistakes can have devastating consequences for their patients.
If you suspect that a medical error caused you further injury, an Upper Marlboro medical malpractice lawyer may be able to help you pursue compensation in a personal injury lawsuit from the medical practitioner who made the mistake. An experienced attorney can handle the legal and financial aspects of your recovery, allowing you the time and resources to better focus on your physical and emotional healing.
Not Every Medical Error Constitutes Malpractice
Medical malpractice occurs when a medical practitioner’s neligence directly causes their patient to suffer harm. Mistakes in the diagnosis, treatment, or management of a patient’s symptoms can all constitute malpractice. However, malpractice does not occur every time a patient suffers an injury or dies during the course of their medical treatment because not every injury and death is preventable.
In addition, not all medical errors amount to medical malpractice. Every healthcare worker makes mistakes, but only those mistakes that deviate from the standard of care constitute malpractice. Medical workers must provide their patients with the same degree of care that another medical worker in a similar geographic area with the same type of training and experience would provide under similar conditions and circumstances. For example, emergency room doctors are often put on the spot and forced to make quick, life or death decisions, sometimes without even having the patient’s complete medical history. Under these circumstances, mistakes are sometimes made, resulting in further harm to the patient. Maryland courts may conclude that errors made in those conditions do not rise to the level of malpractice because other doctors would have made similar mistakes. However, it could constitute malpractice if a primary care doctor mistakenly prescribes the wrong dosage of medication to their patient, causing that otherwise healthy patient to die because a reasonably trained and experienced doctor should not make that kind of mistake.
Malpractice Can Occur in Many Different Places
Medical malpractice does not have to take place in a hospital. It can occur wherever a patient receives medical care and treatment, such as in any of the following locations:
- A doctor’s office
- A hospital room
- A hospital operating room
- A labor and delivery room
- An ambulance
- A pharmacy
- A nursing home
- An assisted living facility
Experienced local malpractice lawyers know where to look for evidence of malpractice. They would carefully review the patient’s medical records and speak with eyewitnesses.
Different Health Care Professionals Can Commit Malpractice
Just as malpractice can occur anywhere that medical care is provided, different kinds of healthcare professionals can commit malpractice. Injured patients can pursue malpractice suits against any of the following medical practitioners:
- Primary care physicians
- Specialists, such as surgeons and obstetricians
- Nurses
- Medical technicians
- Radiologists
- Pharmacists
- Paramedics
In addition to filing claims against individual health care providers for their negligence, injured claimants can also pursue damages against hospitals, nursing homes, or other healthcare organizations. Dedicated Upper Marlboro lawyers would investigate the details of the case to identify all of the potentially liable parties and then work to maximize a claimant’s recovery.
Reach Out for Help from an Upper Marlboro Malpractice Attorney
If you suspect that a medical error caused you serious harm, you should get in touch with an Upper Marlboro malpractice lawyer as soon as you can. A skilled local attorney would apply their knowledge and experience to help you get the recovery that you need and deserve. Please contact our firm today.
