Medical malpractice is any unskilled or negligent treatment that causes a patient to suffer an injury or death. In the medical community, there is a standard of care that applies, and it’s normal that physicians within a state need to be up to the same standard of care when treating patients. For instance, if most physicians in the state know how to perform simple blood tests, then it would be unusual to have a physician who could not do so, possibly opening that physician up to malpractice claims due to a lack of education.
What kinds of skills are physicians supposed to have? That depends on a variety of factors. Realistically, physicians are required to have a degree of skill and learning ordinarily possessed by others of the same profession. If a doctor has met that standard, then he or she will typically not be called negligent. However, if he or she varies from that standard, then he or she could be considered negligent.
Specialists are usually held to a higher standard of care, because they have additional training. Usually, anyone who performs an action that is done by a specialty will be held to the same standard of care as a specialist, even if that doctor or surgeon is not specialized in that field directly.
If you’ve been the victim of a medical provider who did not understand a procedure or who was negligent when providing you with care, you have a right to file a claim. Our website has more information about medical malpractice and what to expect if you decide to head to court.