Medical malpractice in America is considered to be any act or omission by health care providers which cause medical care to fall below accepted standards of practice. In cases of medical malpractice, the negligence of the health care professional can result in serious to patients, and may make their health conditions worse. In one month in 2008, it was estimated that medical malpractice cost hospitals around $324 million. Nearly 20,000 lawsuits are filed each year, all seeking compensation after they were damaged by medical malpractice.

What it takes to have medical malpractice

In order to make a claim for medical malpractice, it is necessary to show that the doctor was aware of the steps that they should have taken with the condition, and decided not to follow those steps, without a valid medical reason. The person making the claim has to establish that there was a duty of care which was owed to the patient; that the duty was breached by the health care provider; that the direct consequence of that breach was injury to the patient. In addition, it is also standard to expect the claimant to prove that the breach was a significant deviation from the expected standard of care, and the professional behaved in a way which is contrary to that standard. Many people find that they have to employ a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Los Angeles in order to prove the claim, and get the compensation that they deserve.

Understanding medical malpractice

The first thing that patients need to understand is that medical malpractice doesn’t occur every time that a professional fails to treat a patient. For example, treating a patient because the professional believes that they have a particular condition before proving that this condition in fact is not what the patient has is not medical malpractice. It would only be malpractice if the doctor persisted in treating the patient for the first condition, despite knowing that such treatment wasn’t necessary.

How a lawyer can help

Another important lesson that patients should learn is that medical malpractice lawyers are specially trained to handle medical cases, and can understand doctor’s terms and references. This can help them to decide whether the patient does have a case for medical malpractice, and how much they should seek in terms of compensation. By putting their case in the hands of lawyers, patients can help to make their case more solid.