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Medical Mistake Lawyer Salt Lake City UT
If you experienced harm, complications, or adverse results from medical treatment, you may wonder if you have a valid case for medical malpractice with a medical mistake lawyer Salt Lake City, UT residents recommend. This is an important consideration to make because a negative outcome alone is not enough. In order to have a valid medical malpractice case, you have to be able to prove that you came to harm as a result of a doctor’s mistake or inappropriate actions.
A medical malpractice lawsuit in Utah is a personal injury lawsuit that is filed against medical professionals. This can be physicians, nurses, anesthesiologists, and others who have a duty of care to provide care to their patients without ever causing harm. If a medical professional or facility is negligent in their care and the patient suffers harm that results in damages for the patient, a medical mistake lawyer Salt Lake City UT clients trust can pursue a lawsuit on behalf of the patient for financial compensation for those damages.
Table Of Contents:
Legal Requirements for a Medical Malpractice Case
In order to be successful in a lawsuit, there are certain factors that a victim must prove in their lawsuit. These are:
- The medical professional must have had a duty of care to the patient
- That duty of care was breached
- That breach resulted in harm to the patient which would not have occurred without that breach
- The patient suffered losses as a result of the harm they suffered
Each medical malpractice lawyer Salt Lake City UT patients recommend from our firm has successfully handled many types of malpractice lawsuits. Some of the more common types of negligence that occur in these cases include:
- Misdiagnosis
- Failure to diagnose
- Operating on the wrong side of a patient or the wrong body part
- Leaving surgical instruments or other objects inside the patient during surgery
- Giving the patient the incorrect mediation, incorrect dosage, or other medication error
- Failure to properly sterilize patient rooms, operating rooms, or other areas of the facility
In any medical malpractice case, the burden to prove there was an act of negligence is on the patient. Not only do they have to prove that they suffered an injury at the hands of the medical professional, but they must also prove that they suffered damages. These damages can include medical bills for treating the injury, future medical care, including surgeries and rehabilitation, that may be needed, lost wages from being unable to work during recovery, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and more.
Medical Malpractice FAQ
When you place your trust, and perhaps your very life, in the hands of a medical provider, it can be traumatic to learn that something related to your care has gone wrong. A mistake by a negligent medical professional can lead to life-long injury or disability, which is one of the many reasons why individuals who are victims of medical malpractice are often entitled to compensation when substandard medical care leads to harm.
While an experienced Salt Lake City, Utah medical negligence lawyer may help to facilitate a favorable outcome of a medical malpractice lawsuit, no legal effort can undo the harm that was done. It cannot reverse the pain and suffering the victim has experienced, either. However, pursuing legal action often has significant merit. If you’ve been harmed by a healthcare professional, it is important to know that an experienced Salt Lake City, UT medical negligence lawyer can pursue justice and a monetary award of compensation to help ease the financial impact that has been placed on you and your family. At Rasmussen & Miner, our experienced and respected lawyers work closely with many expert medical professionals to provide testimony in such cases. We would be more than happy to listen to your story and to advise you of your legal options.
Some of the most frequently asked questions we hear when working with medical malpractice clients include:
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is negligent treatment by a medical or another healthcare provider, including doctors, nurses, hospitals, chiropractors, therapists, anesthesiologists, or other medical professionals. A medical provider that fails to act in a manner that meets the accepted standard of care in the treatment or diagnosis of a condition may be held responsible for the harm and damages that result, including medical bills, lost wages and earning potential, pain and suffering, or wrongful death.
Who Can Be Held Accountable for Medical Malpractice?
A common misconception about medical negligence is that the responsibility for this reality falls solely on doctors. However, any licensed medical provider can be held accountable for medical malpractice, including some of these:
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Physician’s assistants
- Surgeons
- Hospitals
- Hospital staff
- Dentists
- Anesthesiologists
- Eye doctors
What Types of Medical Malpractice Exist?
Medical malpractice may occur in a wide range of scenarios in which a medical practitioner uses improper judgment or makes a mistake. Some common examples of medical malpractice that our Salt Lake City, UT medical negligence lawyer team handles include:
- Birth injuries
- Surgical errors
- Emergency Room negligence
- Gynecological and obstetrical malpractice
- Anesthesia errors
- Failure to diagnose cancer
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
- Medication errors
- Patient neglect
- Brain injuries
- Failure to obtain necessary patient information
Can I Bring a Medical Malpractice Claim for What Might Have Happened?
Since medical malpractice solely constitutes damages, such as pain, injury, and suffering, or the need for additional treatment, you cannot bring a lawsuit for something that might have occurred as a result of poor judgment. Unless harm actually occurred, a medical practitioner can’t be held liable for poor decision making.
If I Signed a Consent Form Before the Incident, Can I Still File a Medical Malpractice Suit?
Fortunately, it is still possible to recover damages if you signed a consent document. Consent does not give a medical practitioner the option to act negligently. If your Salt Lake City, UT medical negligence lawyer can prove that your medical provider deviated from the standard of care and that you were injured because of it, you might still be able to receive compensation for your damages.
Medical Standard of Care
The medical standard of care is a benchmark by which your doctor’s performance may be measured, as a medical mistake lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT can explain. If your doctor’s actions were not consistent with what another physician of comparable education and skill would have done in the same situation, this represents a breach of the medical standard of care.
Expert Witnesses
Because it can be difficult for a layperson to establish a medical standard of care, it may be necessary to obtain testimony from an expert witness. In a medical malpractice case, an expert witness is typically a physician who practices in the same geographic area as your doctor and has extensive experience in treating your condition. However, bear in mind that it is possible for your doctor and his or her legal team to bring in their own expert witnesses. Therefore, having the testimony of an expert is not a guarantee of success.
Specific Damages
You must be able to demonstrate that you came to specific harm as a result of the doctor’s negligence or mistake, as a medical mistake lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT. can attest. Examples include the following:
- Additional medical bills
- Lost earning capacity and/or lost wages
- Physical pain
- Mental anguish
The former two types of harm are economic damages because you can calculate an actual dollar amount for each. The latter two are noneconomic damages. This is an important distinction because some states impose a cap on awards for noneconomic damages.
Cause and Effect
It is not enough to demonstrate to the court that your doctor breached the medical standard of care or that you came to harm as his or her patient. You have to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the breach and the harm you suffered.
For example, postoperative infection is not proof of malpractice in itself. There is always a risk for infection following a surgical procedure. However, if you can prove that the surgical staff failed to perform proper sterilization before the procedure and therefore operated with contaminated instruments, you may be able to make the case that the infection would not have occurred if the surgical team had not breached the standard of care.
Proving medical malpractice can be difficult, especially for a layperson. As a medical mistake lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT, we would be happy to shoulder the burden of handling your malpractice case for you. Contact medical mistake or hospital malpractice lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT Rasmussen & Miner today to arrange a consultation.
Call Our Office Today
If you have been injured by negligence on the part of a medical professional, do not try to go at it alone. Medical malpractice lawsuits can be very complex and often require expert witnesses to testify to the medical issues that occurred. If you would like to learn about what legal recourse you may have, call Rasmussen & Miner to schedule a free and confidential consultation with a Salt Lake City UT medical mistake lawyer. We will evaluate your case and determine what legal options you may have and what types of compensation you may be entitled to.