What’s Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional’s negligence or failure to meet the expected standard of care results in harm to a patient. This can include errors in diagnosis, treatment, aftercare, or health management.

According to Justpoint, thousands of malpractice lawsuits are filed against doctors in the U.S. every year—around 85,000 cases. These numbers highlight how frequently patients suffer due to medical mistakes.

While each state has its own standards for what qualifies as medical malpractice, Connecticut follows specific guidelines. Here, the law requires that a medical professional must fail to provide care that aligns with what a reasonably competent practitioner would offer under similar circumstances. If a healthcare provider’s actions fall below this standard and cause harm, it may lead to a valid malpractice claim.

What Is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice involves more than just a mistake by a healthcare provider. For a situation to qualify as medical malpractice, the provider must have deviated from the accepted standards of medical care, resulting in significant harm to the patient.

In other words, medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional acts in a way that a reasonably competent provider wouldn’t under similar circumstances, and that action directly causes harm.

For a medical malpractice case to be considered, several factors must be involved, including:

• A Doctor-Patient Relationship: The patient must have hired the healthcare provider, and the provider must have agreed to treat the patient.
• Negligence: The healthcare provider must have acted negligently by failing to meet the expected standard of care. This doesn’t mean simply making an error, but rather acting in a way that other competent professionals in the same field wouldn’t.
• Causation: The provider’s negligence must be directly connected to the injury or harm suffered. It must be clear that the provider’s actions, not other underlying factors, led to the damage.
• Considerable Damage: The harm caused by the medical negligence must have led to significant injury or damage. Examples include long-term physical disability, chronic pain, additional medical costs, or loss of income due to an inability to work.

It’s also important to understand that dissatisfaction with the outcome of treatment does not automatically mean malpractice occurred. Some treatments or procedures don’t go as expected despite the provider following the appropriate standards of care. A poor result doesn’t always imply negligence or a failure on the part of the healthcare provider.

Types of Malpractice

Medical malpractice can take many forms, each involving a failure by healthcare professionals to meet the required standard of care. Below are common types of errors or negligence that can lead to a lawsuit:

• Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis: A healthcare provider incorrectly diagnoses or delays identifying a serious condition, leading to improper or delayed treatment.
• Surgical Errors: Mistakes made during surgery, such as operating on the wrong body part, leaving surgical instruments inside the patient, or causing unnecessary damage to organs.
• Medication Errors: Prescribing the wrong medication, incorrect dosage, or failing to account for harmful drug interactions, which results in harm to the patient.
• Anesthesia Errors: Errors related to administering anesthesia, such as giving too much or too little, or failing to monitor the patient’s response, leading to serious complications.
• Birth Injuries: Negligence during childbirth that results in injury to the mother or baby, such as improper use of delivery tools or failure to respond to complications.
• Failure to Treat: A provider correctly diagnoses the condition but fails to treat it in a timely or appropriate manner, causing harm.
• Inadequate Follow-Up or Aftercare: Failing to provide necessary instructions, monitoring, or follow-up care after treatment or surgery.

These types of errors can lead to serious harm or long-term consequences for patients, often giving rise to valid medical malpractice claims.

Key Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

A medical malpractice case typically involves several key individuals, all of whom play important roles in the process. The people involved usually include:

• The Patient: The individual who suffered harm due to alleged negligence.
• The Healthcare Provider: The doctor, nurse, or medical professional accused of malpractice.
• Attorneys: Both the patient’s legal team and the healthcare provider’s defense attorneys will manage the case.
• Medical Experts: Independent experts who evaluate whether the healthcare provider’s actions met the expected standard of care.
• Insurance Companies: Often involved in negotiations or settlements on behalf of the healthcare provider or healthcare facility.

Hire an Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorney to Fight for Your Case

Having an experienced Bridgeport medical malpractice attorney on your side can make all the difference in pursuing a successful claim. Medical malpractice cases are complex, requiring a deep understanding of both legal and medical issues. An experienced attorney knows how to build a strong case, gather the necessary evidence, and consult with medical experts to prove negligence and damages. Without the right legal representation, it’s easy to miss critical deadlines or overlook important details that could harm your case.

At Brill Law Group, our skilled team of attorneys is dedicated to fighting for your rights and helping you get the compensation you deserve. We have the knowledge and experience to handle even the most challenging medical malpractice claims. Contact us today for a free consultation, and let us review your case to see how we can help you move forward.