Helpful legal medical malpractice words and related phrases.
Anesthesia Error – Negligence by improper dosage or failure to monitor a patient while the patient is under anesthesia is all anesthesia related errors, which can cause serious medical consequences.
Arbitration Agreement – The patient waives the right to sue a doctor and instead submits the dispute to arbitration. An Arbitration agreement is legally binding. An Arbitration agreement is in favor of the patients, malpractice cases can be settled faster and more money to them. Doctors often get a discount on their malpractice insurance if the majority of their patients sign such an agreement.
Birth Injury – Birth Injury is an injury that may affect the mother and baby during pregnancy delivery or after the birth. Birth Injury places the mother and baby at risk for death or serious injuries like paralysis, brain damage, fractured bones, cerebral palsy, and other medical problems.
Brain Injury – Brain or head injury resulting from negligence of another party which can include any serious physical conditions, balance and movement difficulties, language and speech difficulties, and the inability to care for themselves.
Cancer Misdiagnosis – Misdiagnosis of cancer by their physicians happens to many people. Examples of Cancer Misdiagnosis include but not limited to: being diagnosed with cancer when you don’t have cancer, physicians diagnosing you with the wrong type of cancer, delay in cancer diagnosis, and failure to diagnose a type of cancer.
Cerebral Palsy – Cerebral Palsy is a serious and permanent birth injury, which can cause limited motion, involuntary movements, poor head control and coordination and other medical and physical problems.
Defensive Medicine – Defensive medicine is designed to avert the possibility of malpractice suits in the future. Defensive Medicine, are primarily to avoid liability instead of trying to benefit the patient. Doctors may order tests, visits, or procedures to avoid high-risk patients to reduce their exposure to malpractice liability. One of the least desirable effects of the rise on medical litigation is defensive medicine. Defensive medicine has increased the cost of health care and can expose patients to unnecessary risks.
Dental Malpractice – If a dentists provides a patient with neglect or substandard care resulting in physical injury or death.
Economic Damages – Out of pocket Damages such as medical expenses, lost of wages and more.
Failure to Diagnose - Failure to diagnose a health condition or disease due to neglect by a physician, who causes physical injury or death, is considered failure to diagnose.
Hospital Malpractice – Any physical injury to a patient, negligence or malpractice that takes place in a hospital is hospital malpractice. Hospital malpractice can be the result of the negligence of any physician, pharmacists, hospital staff member, nurses, and hospital technicians.
Informed Consent – A voluntary agreement by a patient for a specific medical, surgical or other medical procedures. Certain medical procedures require a doctor to have patients sign an informed consent form. The informed consent states that the patient is aware of any risk involved with the medical procedure being done.
Medical Malpractice - Improper treatment or lack of treatment which violates medical standards committed by a doctor, health care provider, dentist, nurse, hospital and so on. If there duties depart from a standard of practice of those with similar training and experience, resulting in harm to a patient.
Medical Negligence – If a patient is not treated with the proper amount of care, resulting in an injury or death, medical negligence has been committed by the physician or any the relating staff members.
Medication Error – Any serious injury or death caused by a health care professional, physician hospital staff member of any type of medicine related mistake is a medication error.
Plastic Surgery Malpractice – Any serious injury or death caused by plastic surgery negligence by the plastic surgeon or plastic surgeon surgery staff, which can include blindness, brain damage, and disfigurement.
Standard of Care – It’s the level of care, which an average practitioner would practice. Or in other words how a similar qualified practitioner would manage their patient’s care under similar circumstances. Medical Malpractice claims must establish the standard of care and show that the standard has been breached.
Surgical Error – A Surgical error is caused by the surgeon or hospital staff member’s negligence, causing serious injury or death to a patient. Surgical Errors Include but not limited to: unnecessary surgery, and wrong site surgery.
Unprofessional Conduct – If a physician or any other relating hospital or health care professionals treat a patient in a manner considered unethical, such as delegating unlicensed people to perform medical procedures, working under the influence of alcohol or drugs, performing procedures they are not trained in and more.
