This legal area occurs when a health care provider, such as a doctor, nurse, hospital or any medical facility gives patient treatment that is considered a “deviation or departure from accepted medical practice.”
Frequently called Medmal, while it can happen in virtually any medical treatment situation, three causes of legal action are highly repetitive.
First, Mis-Diagnosis-when your real underlying medical condition is not correctly diagnosed and treated resulting in long term, more serious injury than had it been done properly from the beginning. Second, Failure to Diagnose-often in cancer cases, frequently mammograms, when an X-Ray, CT Scan or MRI are misread leading to a spread of the malignant disease. Third, Surgical Injuries- transpires when during surgery damage occurs to other healthy organs or nerves that if the procedure had been done accurately it would not have lead to longer term complications.
Two circumstances that unfortunately happen a great deal but do not qualify as Medmal are when a Doctor with poor bedside manners ignores or talks insensitively to a patient’s family and when a person regrettably endures an exceptionally long wait in a hospital emergency room. Highly upsetting yes, medical malpractice no!
Our firm works closely with Attorney Eliot Wolf, of Counsel, who brings a unique background as both a Medical Doctor and active Trial lawyer. Contact our office with any Medmal questions at 212-980-0404.