When you go a Joplin hospital, you expect to get a certain standard of
care in any treatment you receive for an injury or illness. That level
of care should be what a reasonable, prudent physician or hospital staff
would do (or not do) in treating a patient in similar circumstances.
Medical malpractice occurs when the doctor, hospital or other health care provider is negligent
and does not provide treatment that meets that standard of care, resulting
in injury or damages to a patient.
Of course, bad outcomes are not necessarily evidence of negligence.
According to Forbes.com, the Journal of the American Medical Association says heart disease is
the leading cause of death in the United States, followed by cancer and
health care provider negligence. You read that correctly: doctor and hospital
negligence is the third leading cause of death in this country.
Just two years ago, more than $3 billion was paid out in medical malpractice
cases including misdiagnosis, medication errors, hospital errors (wrong
site surgery, anesthesia errors, etc.) and birth injuries.
In cases of medical malpractice, insurers will often move quickly to get
the injured patient to settle claims quickly. Unfortunately, in many situations
injured people settle with an insurer before they understand the full
extent of what the negligence has done to them and how they might continue
to be affected for years to come. Insurers want to get the injured to
sign a quick settlement before an attorney experienced in medical malpractice
cases can help the person get full and fair compensation for damages.
