It is indeed a frightening thought – erring doctors and an increasing number of medical accidents! The police in a UK county are looking into the deaths of at least three patients under the care of a surgeon who was already under investigation, but was still allowed to operate for three months. Authorities say that the medical records of all his patients who had undergone a major operation have been reviewed by an expert multidisciplinary team. Besides, many patients were recalled for further assessment and appropriate investigations. This news was highlighted in The Guardian, bringing home the fact that patients have to be very careful when choosing their physicians. What is more disturbing is the authorities allowing this tainted surgeon to operate in spite of being under investigation.
When a patient is harmed by a doctor or nurse or other medical professional who fails to provide appropriate healthcare treatment, it results in medical malpractice cases. Medication errors, anesthesia errors, surgery errors, misdiagnosis, and delayed diagnosis – all these give rise to medical malpractice cases. However, the patient has to prove that the undesirable/unsatisfactory result was caused by the poor performance of a medical professional; i.e. merely demonstrating that they received substandard care or that the results of the treatment were poor will not be sufficient to prove a medical malpractice case. The claimant will have to demonstrate that the standard of care provided was below that expected of a trained professional.
Medical malpractice cases are regulated by rather complex rules that may be different from one state to another. If it becomes a lawsuit, lawyers and attorneys handling the same will need to get a detailed medical record review of all relevant patient records, have medical chronologies prepared and summaries put together. Clear and concise review of medical records will provide a clear insight into what actually happened.
