Northwest Indiana medical malpractice lawyer discusses what a medical malpractice claim looks like.
Medical malpractice is a complex area of law. We should start the discussion of medical malpractice by looking at one Indiana Jury Instruction. A jury instruction is a statement of law that is provided to the jury who hears a medical malpractice case. A jury relies on the instructions in rendering a verdict in a case.
The jury instruction states, “a medical specialist is one who devotes special attention to an ailment and its treatment, consistent with the state of scientific knowledge at the time. A physician employed as a specialist must exercise the same degree of care and skill that would be exercised by a specialist in the field.” The key to this statement is that a physician must exercise the same degree of care and skill – this is called the “standard of care.”
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider deviates from the applicable standard of care by something that he/she did or by something that he/she failed to do. You may also hear the terms “breached the standard of care” or “negligence.” To put it in regular terms, medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider fails to follow the established rules, norms and/or protocols when rendering care to a patient.
Indiana Medical Malpractice is not:
- A bad result in and of itself
- An unforeseen result
- A normal risk or complication of a medical procedure that develops
- Bad beside manner
- Failure to provide information to a patient or his family
Indiana medical malpractice law is very complex. If you have any questions about a potential medical malpractice claim, call our Michigan City medical malpractice lawyer at (219) 874-4878.
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