What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical Malpractice is, “bad, wrong, or injudicious treatment of a patient, professionally and in respect to the particular disease or injury, resulting. in injury, unnecessary suffering, or death to the patient, and proceeding from ignorance, carelessness, want of proper professional skill, disregard of established rules or principles, neglect, or a malicious or criminal intent .” (Black’s Law Dictionary 1111. 4th Ed. Rev. 1968). Like general malpractice, it refers to negligence in a professional setting. However, it is limited to healthcare providers, such as a doctor or hospital.
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider deviates from the applicable standard of care, intentionally or unintentionally, and harms a patient. Cases such as Napier v. Greenzweig show that medical malpractice can be as blatant as ignoring understood rules, or it can be a mistake like a severe surgical error or a misdiagnosis. Medical malpractice is considered to be a serious issue, and healthcare providers found liable for malpractice often pay extensive damages. Occasionally, a doctor may lose their license to practice medicine if malpractice is severe enough or repeated.
Fully understanding cases of medical malpractice often involves some level of medical knowledge. Because of this, it is difficult to prove medical malpractice in court, and expert witnesses are typically needed to testify about a healthcare provider’s negligence.
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Doctors on Probation for Gross Misconduct Still Practicing
Would you want to know if your doctor was on disciplinary probation?
When it comes to a physician’s disciplinary history, patients are kept very much in the dark. Physicians all over the country who have been disciplined for sexual misconduct, drug abuse, and devastating medical mistakes are still practicing, some while on probation, and they are not required to disclose their probationary status to their current patients.
Meanwhile, medical errors 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S.
Recently, Senator Jerry Hill of California authored a bill that would require doctors to inform patients of their probationary status. The legislation didn’t pass.
Is your doctor on probation?
Under current laws, doctors are required to disclose their disciplinary history to the hospital or practice where they work, and to their medical malpractice insurer, […]
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Medical Errors the 3rd Leading Cause of Death
A recent study from Johns Hopkins found that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States, claiming more lives than any other medical condition except cancer and heart disease.
Unfortunately, this problem is kept out of the public eye because the CDC’s mortality statistics, which rely on death certificate data, don’t capture things like communication breakdowns or errors in judgment that can lead to a patient’s death. As a result, medical mistakes are under-reported. This new study, based on eight years of hospitalization records, calls for a better way to track medical errors in order to better protect patients.
As personal injury lawyers, we know that there are seemingly endless numbers of things that can go wrong during a patient’s care. Missed or mistaken diagnosis, unnecessary procedures, poor communication, electronic medical record inconsistencies, prescription mishaps, […]
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Marion Munley Named Top 50 Women; Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys listed in 2015 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys is pleased to announce that seven of its attorneys have been named to the 2015 list of Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, an honor awarded to the top five percent of lawyers in Pennsylvania. In addition, Marion Munley has been named among the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Pennsylvania by PA Super Lawyers.
As of this year, all of our attorneys have been named Pennsylvania Super Lawyers.
- Robert W. Munley, Sr., Personal Injury – General: Plaintiff, Personal Injury – Products: Plaintiff
- Marion K. Munley, Personal Injury – General: Plaintiff, Personal Injury – Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff
- Daniel W. Munley, Personal Injury – General: Plaintiff, Personal Injury – Products: Plaintiff
- Christopher Munley, Personal Injury – General: Plaintiff
- Julia K. Munley, Personal Injury – General: Plaintiff, […]
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Mesothelioma Misdiagnosis Lawyers
Have You or a Loved One Had a Mesothelioma Misdiagnosis?
Mesothelioma diagnosis errors are estimated to cause over 500 deaths every year.
If you or a family member has suffered because of a doctor’s improper or missed diagnosis of mesothelioma, you may be able to recover your past and future medical expenses, lost income, and compensation for your pain and suffering, diminished quality of life or reduced lifespan, disability, and more. Please contact Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys today to speak with a mesothelioma misdiagnosis attorney or call us at [phone-number]. We have offices conveniently located in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Philadelphia, and Carbondale, PA.
About Mesothelioma
A layer of specialized cells – known as mesothelial cells – lines the inside of the chest, abdomen, heart and the other surfaces of most of our internal organs. […]
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Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawyers
Have you or a loved one had a breast cancer misdiagnosis?
Cancer misdiagnosis currently accounts for 10-20% of all cancer cases and far exceed wrong drug and wrong surgical site errors. A vast majority of these late or incorrect diagnoses are life-threatening or result in death. For breast cancer alone, diagnosis errors are estimated to cause over 40,000 deaths every year. This is unacceptable.
If you or a family member has suffered because of a doctor’s improper or missed diagnosis of your breast cancer, you may be able to recover your past and future medical expenses, lost income, and compensation for your pain and suffering, diminished quality of life or reduced lifespan, disability, and more. Please contact Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys today to speak with a breast cancer misdiagnosis attorney or call us at [phone-number]. We have offices conveniently located in Scranton, […]
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