There are times when a patient is neglected when under the care of a physician or a hospital. In such circumstances, the patient or patient's family may seek to file a lawsuit against individuals entrusted with the patient's care for an injury occuring due to the medical neglect. This lawsuit is typically based upon medical malpractice.
How a Medical Neglect Case Arises
Usually, medical neglect cases come about against a physician or other health care provider when a patient does not receive the correct medical care. Frequently, when this occurs, the matter will develop into a medical malpractice lawsuit. In a medical malpractice case based upon medical neglect, the care given to the patient falls below the level of the accepted medical standards, which leads to an injury.
Common Scenarios of Medical Neglect
There are various common ways in which medical neglect arises. These scenarios can include the following:
- surgery error
- physician impairment (where a physician is under the influence of drugs/alcohol)
- failure to diagnose a condition or a disease
- error in medication
- failure to treat a patient in a timely fashion
- performing an improper procedure on a patient
Who Can Be Sued for Medical Neglect
The following parties can be included in a lawsuit for medical neglect:
- physicians
- the hospital where a patient stayed during an incident where an injury arose
- nurses
- hospital staff of any kind
- physical therapists involved in the patient's care
- any other types of related therapists involved in the patient's care
Types of Damages Which Can Be Sought
In the event that a patient has incurred an injury due to medical neglect, there are different types of damages one may be able to recover. All jurisdictions have various rules pertaining to the kind and amount of damages one can seek, so it is important to check with the laws of the particular state. However, generally, the following types of damages can be recovered in a medical neglect case:
- medical bills
- punitive damages (these are damages designed to punish the wrongdoer)
- compensatory damages
- hospital bills
- future medical care needed by the injured party
- future therapy needed by the patient
- lost future earnings
- lost wages
Getting Legal Help
Medical neglect cases are complex and are best handled by a skilled medical malpractice attorney. Consequently, if one is faced with a potential neglect lawsuit, one should consider consulting with a medical malpractice attorney with expertise in medical neglect. An experienced attorney can not only review one’s case in order to determine what types of options one may have in the matter, but also an attorney can help one figure out the most appropriate course of action to choose in the case.
