We trust doctors and medical professionals with our lives. When we undergo surgery or start a new treatment, we hope for a cure—or at least an improvement. But what happens when the result is an injury, a worsening condition, or a tragedy?
It is a painful reality that medical treatments do not always go as planned. However, it is crucial to understand the legal distinction between a known risk (a “bad outcome”) and actual medical negligence.
Here is how to tell the difference and why it matters for your legal rights.
1. The “Standard of Care”
In the legal world, everything hinges on the Standard of Care. This is defined as the level of care and skill that a reasonably competent healthcare professional, with a similar background and in the same medical community, would have provided under the same circumstances.
- A Bad Outcome: The doctor followed all proper protocols, ran the right tests, and performed the procedure correctly, but the patient still suffered complications.
- Negligence: The doctor deviated from accepted medical practices. For example, they failed to order a necessary scan that a standard doctor would have ordered, leading to a missed diagnosis.
2. Informed Consent
Before a procedure, doctors are required to explain the potential risks to you. This is called “Informed Consent.”
If a known complication occurs (for example, an infection after surgery) and you were warned about this risk and signed a consent form, it is generally not considered malpractice—provided the doctor treated the infection correctly once it appeared. However, if a doctor makes a surgical error that causes the infection, that is a different story.
3. Causation: Connecting the Error to the Injury
To have a valid medical negligence claim, you must prove that the doctor’s mistake directly caused the injury.
If a doctor makes a mistake, but that mistake did not change the outcome of your illness, it may not be actionable malpractice. For a claim to succeed, we must demonstrate that if the doctor had acted properly, the injury would not have happened.
4. When Should You Call a Lawyer?
Medical malpractice cases are complex and require a deep understanding of both medicine and law. You should consider reaching out if:
- Your condition worsened dramatically after treatment.
- A diagnosis was delayed despite clear symptoms.
- You discovered a surgical error (such as an object left inside the body).
- The medical provider admitted to a mistake.
You don’t have to figure this out alone. If you suspect that you or a loved one suffered due to a medical error, you need answers. We can review your medical records and consult with experts to determine if the standard of care was met.
