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.