All medical professionals are held to a certain standard of care. Whether it's your nurse, doctor, surgeon or pharmacist, each health care provider owes a duty to act according to a certain standard of care for his or her position. The "standard of care" are those actions that are reasonably expected of a health care professional in a particular circumstance. Failing to act in accordance with this standard may constitute negligence.
Whether medical malpractice has occurred in any situation varies and depends on establishing if a particular health care provider breached the requisite standard of care. If you have questions about medical malpractice or believe that you may have been harmed as the result of medical negligence, consulting with an experienced California medical malpractice attorney is important. A knowledgeable medical malpractice lawyer can begin an investigation to determine whether your physician, nurse or other provider was negligent.
It's important to note that not all medical visits that end poorly are the result of medical malpractice. In certain situations, nothing could have been done to prevent a bad outcome. However, where health care providers fails to act as they should, and this conduct leads to harm, the individual and even the hospital may be held responsible and be required to pay damages. These damages may include medical costs, economic damages and pain and suffering.
For example, medical malpractice may be implicated where an obstetrician or other physician fails to respond quickly enough when an infant shows signs of fetal distress and the child is born with a birth injury. In this instance, whether the doctor failed to at within the appropriate standard of care is critical to determine whether the physician was negligent and responsible for the harm caused to the child as the result of his conduct.
For more information concerning medical malpractice, please contact the top California medical malpractice lawyers at Bostwick & Peterson, LLP for an immediate consultation.