Many of us have easy access to high-quality medical care from the best healthcare practitioners. However, sometimes doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other medical professionals make mistakes, which can lead to a myriad of health problems for their patients.
If you suspect that a medical error caused you to sustain a severe injury, you might benefit from a skilled personal injury attorney. A Macon medical malpractice lawyer could help you pursue a lawsuit against the person whose negligence caused you harm and recover compensation that addresses your losses.
Determining What is Malpractice
Even with all of today’s medical advances, some illnesses do not respond to medical treatments. Some patients become sicker or even die while under their doctor’s care. Just because a patient’s condition deteriorates during the course of their medical treatment does not grant that person or their family the right to sue the doctor. However, when a patient becomes ill as a direct result of a medical provider’s mistake in diagnosis or treatment, they are eligible to file a lawsuit.
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare practitioner’s medical mistake falls below the appropriate level of care. Generally, practitioners must provide patients with the same level of care as other medical workers in the same field of work who have similar backgrounds and training.
Because not all medical care is an exact science, some mistakes do not rise to the level of malpractice. Instead, courts look at whether other similarly trained doctors might have made the same mistake under the same circumstances. For example, if a patient suffered a severe allergic reaction to a drug, courts would look at the doctor’s training and the circumstances surrounding the error to determine if other doctors would have also prescribed that drug. However, if a trauma surgeon failed to learn that their unconscious patient with a gunshot wound had a drug allergy before rushing them off to life-saving surgery, a court could excuse that error because the patient was unable to speak, and the situation was so critical that emergency surgery was necessary.
A Macon medical malpractice attorney could use their knowledge and experience to review a patient’s medical record to see if they have a viable claim.
Where Can Malpractice Occur?
Malpractice does not only occur in doctor’s offices. It can happen anywhere that a person receives medical care. Commonly, medical mistakes occur in the following locations:
- Physician’s offices
- Operating rooms
- Birthing rooms at hospitals or birthing centers
- Nursing homes or assisted living facilities
- Ambulances
- Pharmacies
Injured patients can pursue claims against doctors, nurses, technicians, pharmacists, and other healthcare practitioners for their medical mistakes. A medical errors lawyer in Macon should have experience investigating potential malpractice claims in a wide variety of medical settings.
Call a Macon Medical Malpractice Attorney for Guidance
Doctors and other medical professionals train for many years to become experts at making us feel better. But even the most highly trained professionals can make a mistake. If you believe that a medical worker’s mistake hurt you, then you could be eligible to receive financial compensation for your losses. Reach out to a Macon medical malpractice attorney to see if they can help you obtain the relief you need and deserve.