How do I know if I have a Medical Malpractice claim?
You have a Medical Malpractice claim if you can show all of these things:
A doctor-patient relationship existed. You must show that you had a physician-patient relationship with the doctor you are suing — this means you hired the doctor and the doctor agreed to be hired.
The doctor was negligent. The doctor must have been negligent in connection with your diagnosis or treatment, the doctor is not liable just because you’re unhappy with the results or treatment. To sue for malpractice in Ohio, you must be able to establish that the doctor failed to meet the requisite standard of care. The doctor’s care is not required to be the best possible, but rather “what a medical professional of ordinary skill, care, and diligence in the same medical specialty would do in similar circumstances.” Whether the doctor was reasonably skillful, careful and diligent is often at the heart of a medical malpractice claim.
The doctor’s negligence caused the injury. Because many malpractice cases involve patients that were already sick or injured, there is often a question of whether what the doctor did, negligent or not, actually caused the harm. For example, if a patient dies after treatment for cancer, and the doctor did something negligent, it could be hard to prove that it caused the death rather than the cancer. The patient must show that it is “more likely than not” that the doctor’s incompetence directly caused the injury. Usually, the patient must have a medical expert testify that the doctor’s negligence caused the injury.
The injury led to specific damages. Even if it is clear that the doctor performed below the expected standards in his or her field, the patient can’t sue for malpractice if the patient didn’t suffer any harm. Here are examples of the types of harm patients can sue for:
- Physical Pain
- Mental Anguish
- Additional Medical Bills, and
- Lost Work and Lost earning capacity.
Our lawyers handle all types of medical malpractice claims, including:
- Anesthesia mistakes
- Birth injury
- Brain injury
- Cerebral palsy
- Emergency room mistakes
- Legionnaires’ disease
- Medication errors
- Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnose
- Nursing home neglect
- Spinal cord injuries
- Surgical errors
- Wrongful death
Our lawyers handle all types of medical malpractice claims, including:
Call 1-800-ELK-OHIO or use our online form to the right for a free consultation if you have suffered from a medical mistake.