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.
More information about Medical Malpractice
Car Accident Round-Up – Five Die in Fiery Michigan Accident
Both cars catch fire in wrong way car crash killing all five involved
MI Accident Kills Five in Wrong-Way Collision
In a tragic, fiery crash in Detroit, MI early Sunday morning, five people died when a driver traveling the wrong-way on the M-10 crashed head-on into another vehicle. An SUV carrying four people and a passenger car, with just the driver in the car, slammed into each other causing both cars to erupt into flames killing the occupants of both vehicles. Police are unsure of the cause of the accident and do not know which car was traveling the wrong way. The northbound lanes of the highway were shut down for nearly six hours.
Two Die in Multi-Vehicle FL Accident
NorthEscambia.com reports that a Friday morning accident on I-10 near Pensacola, FL took the lives of one adult and a child. […]
More information about Medical Malpractice
Family of Injured Kentucky Nursing Home Patient to Receive $1 Million Settlement
According to an article in the Lexington-Herald Leader, a Fayette, Kentucky Circuit Court jury awarded the family of a nursing home patient $1 million for negligence resulting from a January 2009 incident. The Alzheimer’s patient, in her late 80s, at Lexington’s Cambridge Place Nursing Home suffered extensive injuries in a fall after she went missing from her room.
The lawsuit alleged the woman suffered broken bones in her face, bleeding in her brain, and a serious cut on her forehead, and various other injuries, after she fell from her Merry Walker, a walker that includes a seat, and was later found severely injured in an equipment storage room.
The case was previously reviewed by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the attorney general’s office. An adult-protection worker found that the woman was a “victim of caretaker neglect and had been exposed to an extreme safety risk.” […]
Read MoreMore information about Medical Malpractice
Car Accident Round-Up – Motorcyclists Die in Florida Accident
Motorcyclist and passenger die after being hit from behind and thrown into traffic
FL Motorcyclist and Passenger Die in Multi-Vehicle Accident
Both the driver of a motorcycle and his passenger died when a Ford Explorer struck the cycle from behind on I-4 near mile marker 122 in DeLand, Florida early Sunday morning. The Sun-Sentinel reports both occupants were thrown from the motorcycle and were run over by approaching vehicles who could not avoid the wreckage. A third vehicle swerved and hit a tree leading to a fire. The driver of the Explorer fled the scene of the crash; however, police have identified a woman who is a person of interest.
Teenager Dies in KY Roll-Over Accident
A Monday afternoon car accident in Nelson County, KY, claimed the life of one teenager and sent two more to the hospital. The 17-year-old driver apparently lost control of her car as she was heading east on Old Bloomfield Road. […]
More information about Medical Malpractice
Ohio Family Awarded $4.2 Million in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
The family of an Ohio woman who died of a heart attack after being treated at Wheeling Hospital (WV) in 2009 has been awarded $4.2 million by an Ohio County jury. The lawsuit was filed against Dr. Stephen Heirendt and EMPG of West Virginia, Inc.
The woman went to Wheeling Hospital, complaining of chest pains, where she was treated by Heirendt. The suit claimed that the doctor did not follow appropriate standards of care, ultimately leading to her heart attack 11 days later. The woman was 43-years-old.
The family was awarded $1.5 million for sorrow and mental anguish, $1.5 million for loss of services, $300,000 for loss of household services and $872,000 in lost wages.
If you or a loved one has been harmed by a form of medical negligence, you may have a medical malpractice claim. Our attorneys at Munley Law are experienced and successful medical malpractice litigators and we fight to protect the rights of patients. […]
Read MoreMore information about Medical Malpractice
Pennsylvania Woman Awarded $23 Million in Medical Malpractice Case
WFMZ-TV reports a Lehigh County, Pennsylvania jury has awarded a Lehighton woman $23 million in a medical malpractice case. The woman had both legs amputated after her home care nurse failed to evaluate and report an infected catheter for appropriate treatment.
The lawsuit alleged the delay in reporting the infection led to a bloodstream infection that ultimately required the woman’s legs to be amputated below the knees.
The jury found the nurse and her employer, St. Luke’s Miners Memorial Home Care, negligent in caring for the plaintiff.
A spokesman for St. Luke’s said, “As with all malpractice cases, this is a complicated situation, but the resultant jury award is excessive and shocks the conscience.” The spokesman did not indicate if they would appeal the verdict.
If you or a loved one has been harmed by a form of medical negligence, […]
Read More
