Medical negligence = medical malpractice = medical error, they are terms for the same thing. Medical malpractice occurs when a health care provider (which can be an individual or an entity) neglects to provide appropriate treatment, omits to take appropriate action, or gives substandard treatment that causes harm, injury or death to a patient.
In legal parlance, it is referred to as “violating the standard of care”. The standard of care is established in a medical malpractice case by the testimony of an expert, meaning a qualified physician in the same field of practice at issue.
Types of medical malpractice include but are not limited to:
- Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis
- Unnecessary, incorrect, or improperly performed surgery
- Premature discharge
- Not following up on testing ordered and results
- Failing to order appropriate diagnostic testing
- Failing to treat a patient’s condition or postoperative complication
For more information contact Heather Mitchell Law at 405-594-6800