Medical malpractice in Wichita is something that occurs when a physician, another medical practitioner or the hospital fails in the competent discharge of their duties resulting in injuries or harm to a patient. The laws that apply to medical-malpractice suits vary between states, including the amount of time that a case can be filed. In some states, a two-year window exists to bring suit; in others, it can be as short as 180 days.
There are general principles, however, that apply to malpractice in Wichita, here are a few:
First, you must prove that malpractice occurred;
* A doctor-patient relationship must be established. You must be able to prove that a relationship with the doctor you are suing existed. You cannot sue, for example, if you had a casual conversation with a doctor at the golf club, he gave advice that you followed, and it went wrong. It is easy to prove that there was a patient-doctor relationship; questions of this nature usually arise when the consulting physician actually did not treat you as the patient.
* You must prove negligence on the part of the respondent, be it, a doctor or the hospital. You may be unhappy with the results of the treatment, but being unhappy does not qualify as negligence. There has to be specific negligence proven in your diagnosis or treatment, and you have to prove that you were caused harm that would not have happened under a competent doctor, given the identical circumstances. It is not required that the doctor be the best possible, all he has to be is reasonably careful and have reasonable skills. It is usually the “reasonable” that lies at the heart of a malpractice in Wichita claim. During trial, you will have to present an expert witness to disclose the standards that are considered to be reasonable in your specific case.
* It must be proven that the injury led to damages. If the doctor performed below an acceptable standard, but there were no injuries, you cannot sue. You can sue for:
1. Physical pain
2. Mental anguish
3. Additional medical expenses
4. Lost income
What are the common types of malpractice?
* There are many reasons for lodging a medical malpractice suit, everything from leaving an instrument or sponge in the patient after surgery to failure in explaining the effects of a prescribed drug. For a case to prosper, it generally needs to fall under the following categories:
Failure to diagnose: If the patient’s disorder had been diagnosed by a competent physician, the treatment would have been different as well as the results.
* Improper treatment: If the patient is treated differently than he would be by a competent doctor, a suit can also be brought if the proper treatment is selected but improperly administered.
* Failure to warn of risks: The doctors have a duty to explain the anticipated procedure and treatment. This is known as “informed consent” and if the patient can prove that he would not have gone through with the treatment had he been properly advised of the consequences, he has a valid case.
If you believe you are the victim of medical malpractice in Wichita, then you are invited to contact the lawyers at Business Name. They have extensive experience in prosecuting malpractice suits.
