Commonly asked questions about Medical Malpractice
- What is Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is a negligent act by a professional health care provider or medical practitioner. Usually occurring during the treatment of a medical condition of a patient, medical malpractice is due to the professional not conforming to standard procedures and methods. Some examples of these include:
- Misdiagnosis of an illness, disease, or any other medical condition
- Not giving the proper treatment for an illness, disease, or any other medical condition
- Not treating a diagnosed medical condition in a timely matter
- What is the first step in pursuing a medical malpractice claim?
Since substantial evidence is needed to prove your case, you may be asked to sign release forms. This gives your attorney permission to access your medical records that need reviewing by experts.
- Do all doctors have insurance?
Unfortunately, the answer is no. Many times doctors have other bills to consider including paying back student loans and other expenses. Since the cost of insurance premiums for doctors can be very expensive, some of the smaller practices may not have insurance while bigger practices may have a joint insurance.
- What Does Standard Of Care Mean?
When questioning whether or not a doctor committed medical malpractice, attorneys and medical experts must first determine if the practitioner met the accepted standard of care. But what is the standard of care? Very simply, the accepted standard of care is based on how a doctor in the same field with the same qualifications would have acted in the same situation. To learn more about the accepted standard of care in your own case, contact us for a free initial consultation.
- What is the statute of limitations?
This time limit starts from the time you felt a medical professional treated you wrongly, when you first learned of the negligence, or when you stopped receiving treatment. Although it can vary from state to state, the statute of limitations is usually between 2-7 years. In Texas and New Mexico, the statute of limitations is 2 years. Time is of the essence so it is important to seek the advice of an attorney right away.
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Andrew B. Sommerman, George (Tex) Quesada are lifetime members of the "Million Dollar Advocates Forum," a registered trademark of Million Dollar Advocates Forum, LLC
Andrew B. Sommerman is a lifetime member of the "Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum," a registered trademark of Million Dollar Advocates Forum, LLC
