Is Medical Malpractice A Personal Injury?
If you've been injured by your doctor, you may be wondering how to make your claim and be made whole. Part of that is making sure you go to the right kind of lawyer. Here's what you should know.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is a mistake by your doctor that leads to injury, illness, disability, or even death. Doctors are human and can make mistakes. Not all medical procedures have guaranteed outcomes. However, doctors still need to follow a professional duty of care.
When a doctor makes a mistake or forgets something that a reasonable doctor should get right, that is medical malpractice. Someone who is harmed by medical malpractice has the right to recover for that harm and the resulting financial losses.
What Is Personal Injury?
Personal injury is a general type of claim where one person harmed another through negligence. Instead of just medical harm, it can be any type of harm such as a car accident or slip and fall. If you've been injured by another person, you have the right to recover for that injury.
So Is Medical Malpractice a Personal Injury?
Medical malpractice is a type of personal injury. You might see a lawyer describing themself as a medical malpractice lawyer because they want to be more specific about what type of case that they handle. Even in a general personal injury firm, they might have a lawyer in that firm who only does medical malpractice.
It's similar to any other type of business. For example, if you're buying lunch, you might go to a deli in a grocery store or a deli that's a standalone business.
How Do You Prove a Medical Malpractice Personal Injury?
In order to prove your claim, you need to prove that the doctor committed some form of negligence. This is often by showing that they didn't follow medical procedures. For example, if another doctor finds a serious illness after your original doctor missed it, the original doctor might have committed malpractice by failing to order a routine test.
In many malpractice cases, you need to use your medical records to show exactly what happened. Any personal injury lawyer can do this, but it can be helpful to have someone who is experienced in malpractice cases and may have a better idea of what it will take to convince a jury to find in your favor.
To learn more, contact a local personal injury lawyer today.