subject: Areas Of Expertise Of A Medical Malpractice Lawyer [print this page] Areas Of Expertise Of A Medical Malpractice Lawyer
It is indeed an irony that instances of medical malpractices have increased by the day even with Medical Sciences advancing in leaps and bounds. To the uninitiated in legal parlance, "medical malpractice" refers to an act of negligence by a medical practitioner when he is treating a case. It also refers to instances where the practitioner has failed to properly diagnose a condition or carry out the most appropriate action when dealing with a case. Given the highly technical nature of such cases, it is difficult to prove malpractice in court. The success of such a case depends not only on the volume of evidence presented in the courtroom but also on the expertise of the medical malpractice lawyer.
It is not surprising that there are medical malpractice lawyers who specialize in various cases. Here are some common malpractice cases that lawyers may specialize in:
* Pharmaceutical Injuries: These refer to injuries that are caused when individuals take harmful drugs that are marketed by a drug company. In such cases, the company can be taken to court and sued on grounds of medical malpractice. Pharmaceutical injuries may also be caused if drugs are improperly handled by manufacturers or pharmacists or wrongly administered by a medical practitioner.
* Birth Injuries: These injuries may range from something minor like bruising and forceps marks to instances more severe like broken bones, facial paralysis, and trauma to the brain. But the technical expertise of a medical malpractice lawyer is needed to prove that these injuries have been caused by negligence, error in judgment, or failure to administer the appropriate mode of treatment during labor or at the time of delivery. In fact, the success of the case depends on the lawyer's ability to prove the exact nature of the malpractice in the court-failure to anticipate birth-related complications, delay in going in for the cesarean procedure when required, failure to appropriately deal with fetal distress, or misuse of surgical instruments like forceps or vacuum extractor.
* Nursing Home Negligence: This can be manifest in many forms, mistreatment and physical and emotional abuse being the most common of these. Delayed and misdiagnosis, mistakes made during a surgical operation, using non-sterilized surgical instruments and untested blood, and administering wrong medication or incorrect doses constitute nursing home negligence. However, it is difficult to gather evidence to prove many of these instances. It is only a registered lawyer who has the requisite means to demand records, documents, and samples from the nursing home and build a case.
* Cancer Misdiagnosis: A research carried out by Harvard University concluded that cancer misdiagnosis is one of most common forms of medical malpractices in the United States. Misdiagnosis results in patients receiving the wrong treatment or delay in receiving any treatment at all. These instances may spell disastrous consequences for the critically ill and may even result in the patient developing irreversible medical conditions.
* Laser Eye Surgery Malpractice: Doctors are required to screen patients before conducting Lasik or vision correction surgery on them to lessen the chances of injuries and complications later on. However, complications can occur when the doctor commits mistakes during the surgery. Medical malpractice lawyers must be called upon to deal with Lasik surgery negligence cases. This is because some conditions like dry eyes, hazy vision, and seeing halos around lights are common after such surgeries and it takes expertise to spot malpractice.
When in need of advice from a medical malpractice lawyer, Baltimore residents will advise you to approach someone reputable and trustworthy.
