Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Lawyers

What Constitutes Medical Malpractice?

Even when providing a high standard of care, doctors can make mistakes.  While this may not automatically qualify as medical malpractice, the steps doctors take after these errors determines whether a patient can claim that they received negligent or substandard care.  To find their best options, patients should work with a Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney in order to legally demonstrate that a physician was negligent or did not provide the accepted standard of care in his or her specific field.

Negligence & Substandard Care

Plaintiffs must prove negligence and substandard care in order to win a medical malpractice suit.  Simply put, they must determine whether or not the physician or hospital staff member in question made an error that another skilled and competent professional in the same specialty would not have made under similar circumstances. If it is a misdiagnosis case, you and your medical malpractice attorney may need to examine the method by which the physician arrived at the diagnosis.  Upon examination, if the physician was found to have erred in a way that another competent physician in the same specialty would not have, there may be reason to suspect negligence. In addition, the patient must also prove that the negligence directly caused actual injury.  This injury could have been a result of incorrect treatment, the absence of treatment due to an improper diagnosis, medication error, or a number of other mistakes.  If you cannot demonstrate the link between your illness or injury and the alleged malpractice, you will have a tough time receiving compensation through the legal system.

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Taking a medical malpractice suit to court can be expensive and difficult.  The doctor or hospital’s insurance company will do everything it can to prove there were no medical mistakes, bringing in experts to assist.  This means the patient will also require expert witnesses, specifically those who work in the same field as those who committed the alleged negligence.  These witnesses will help you prove that you sustained injuries due to a doctor or staff member’s malpractice or substandard care. A skilled and experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyer will know how to find expert witnesses to assist you in your case.  If you have questions about what constitutes medical malpractice, consult with the attorneys of Galfand Berger by calling 1-800-222-8792. Our Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorneys represent clients throughout the Philadelphia region, including the Allentown, Harrisburg, Bethlehem and Reading Regions, as well as New Jersey.