How do I know if I received negligent medical treatment?

Medical Negligence occurs when a doctor deviates from the medically accepted standard of care. Determining if this is in fact the case requires the opinion of a neutral third party medical professional. In a case of injury resulting from infection after surgery, there are likely two opportunities for negligent medical care to cause injury.

1. Acquisition of the Infection

How was the infection acquired in the first place? If there was some deviation from accepted medical standards during the surgery, this could lead to infection. Such surgical negligence would include using unhygienic surgical equipment or the surgeon not taking proper care to disinfect his or her hands.

2. Diagnosis and Treatment of the Infection

Alternatively, the infection may have been just an unavoidable risk. However, if the infection was diagnosed earlier, could your leg have been saved? And if so, should it have been caught and treated sooner, before spreading to such a serious level?

These are the types of questions that need to be answered before medical negligence can be established. In general, a medical malpractice attorney will need to consult with an expert medical witness to find out how the treatment may have been mishandled, and whether negligence is present.

Ultimately, the only way to find out is to consult with a medical malpractice lawyer about your case. You can contact one of our medical malpractice attorneys by "clicking on the talk to a lawyer" button. If you would like to learn more about medical negligence, check out the article I have referenced below for a great resource on medical negligence.