medical malpractice attorney bellingham Tag

It’s National Patient Safety Awareness Week

Failure to Diagnose Heart Attack: Medical Malpractice

Report Finds 1 in 4 Medicare Patients Harmed During Hospital Stays

Medical errors are a serious public health problem and a consistent leading cause of death in the United States. A report published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General on May 9, 2022 revealed that one in four seniors covered by Medicare experienced some type of harm during their hospital stay in 2018. Twelve percent of patients experienced adverse events, characterized as medical care that led to longer hospital stays, permanent harm, life-saving intervention, or death. An additional 13 percent of patients experienced temporary harm events, which required medical intervention but did not cause lasting harm, prolong hospital stays, or require life-sustaining measures. Some of the temporary harm events were serious and could have caused further harm if medical providers had not treated patients in a timely manner.

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Snow Shoveling Causes More than 11,000 Injuries and 100 Fatalities Each Year

The Pacific Northwest has been hit with a snow storm and very cold temperatures. With more snow and continued freezing temperatures in the forecast, there will be snowy roads and driveways for at least a week. As people get outside to shovel their sidewalks and driveways, they should know to be very careful. Data published by pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov reveals that there are about 11,500 injuries each year from shoveling snow, including 100 fatalities.

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Do I Have a Medical Malpractice Case?

Medical malpractice case is a legal cause of action that happens when a medical or other health care professional deviates from the standards of care in their profession through a negligent act or omission, thereby causing injury to a patient. Negligent omissions include failure to disclose test results or to provide proper aftercare. Negligent acts include diagnostic errors and prescription drug errors.

What is not medical malpractice case?

There are many scenarios that can lead to an unhappy patient that do not necessarily fall under the category of medical malpractice because the medical professional did not act negligently. Some examples include:

• Adverse or bad surgical or treatment outcome
• Untreatable patient condition
• Worsening patient condition
• Rude or hurried treatment

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Top 4 Medical Malpractice Claims Myths

Sadly, recent studies of medical errors published on pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, estimate that medical errors may account for as many as 251,000 deaths annually, which makes medical errors the third leading cause of death in the U.S. While the numbers reported typically range between 45,000 and 95,000, experts acknowledge that less than 10 percent of medical errors are reported. When a person is injured as a result of negligent medical care or preventable medical errors, they may be entitled to compensation through a medical malpractice claim.

When it comes to personal injury claims, there are probably more myths and misunderstandings about medical malpractice claims than any other category. This is a problem because myths can prevent injured patients or their loved ones from seeking the settlement they deserve for their injuries.

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Seeking Justice for Sexual Misconduct by a Medical Professional

We place a lot of trust in doctors to help keep our minds and bodies healthy. While the vast majority of health professionals are committed to acting with the utmost integrity, there are a tiny percentage who are predators. When a doctor or other medical professional sexually assaults or acts indecently with a patient, they have broken the duty of care they are expected to uphold and should be held accountable for their actions. Civil lawsuits for sexual misconduct fall under personal injury laws while criminal charges fall under criminal law.

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Does Sexual Misconduct Fall Under Medical Malpractice?

When Can I Sue a Hospital for Medical Negligence?

If you or a loved one was injured at a hospital because of negligence, you may be wondering if it is appropriate to sue for negligence to recover damages. Specifically, when is it appropriate to sue a hospital for negligence versus an individual medical professional?

First, let’s define medical negligence

Medical negligence is the fault theory used in most medical malpractice cases. It has occurred when a medical professional performs their job in a way that breaks their duty of care by deviating from the accepted medical standard of care. Medical negligence qualifies as medical malpractice when the medical professional’s negligent conduct causes injury to the patient.

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What is a Doctor’s Duty of Care?

Medical doctors and other health professionals owe a duty of care to their patients. A duty of care is the legal obligation doctors owe their patients to provide treatment in line with appropriate levels of care under the circumstances. This legal obligation is the first step in proving any medical malpractice claim.

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