What Qualifies for Medical Malpractice?
When you go to your doctor for help, you trust your doctor to help you with the best of their ability and complete their medical duties. When you or a loved one is a patient, you have many things to worry about, and your doctor’s performance should not be another strain for you or your family. However, unfortunately, there are cases where a medical professional fails to do their duty to their patients. When a doctor fails to do their medical duties, it can be considered a medical malpractice case. If you think you may have suffered from a case of medical malpractice, reach out to us at Tannenbaum, Bellatone, & Silver, P.C., and see how our medical malpractice lawyers on Long Island can help you.
What Qualifies for Medical Malpractice?
The rules and laws about medical malpractice can vary from state to state, but in general, some requirements need to be met for your situation to qualify. For a medical malpractice lawyer on Long Island, you can speak with contact us at Tannenbaum, Bellatone, & Silver, P.C., and see what we have to offer. Some of the requirements you will need to prove for a medical malpractice case include:
- You had a proper doctor-patient relationship: If a doctor just advised a chance meeting, it can’t count for medical malpractice. You can only sue a doctor if they are treating and working with you. Generally, this means you hired, said the doctor, and the doctor agreed to be hired. This point can be complicated if the doctor in question did not directly treat you.
- There was negligence involved: An unhappy or unfavorable diagnosis or outcome does not constitute a medical malpractice case. Contact us Tannenbaum, Bellatone, & Silver, P.C medical malpractice lawyer on Long Island. You have to prove that the doctor you are suing caused you to harm in a way a different, non-negligent doctor would not have. If the doctor’s treatment was not “reasonably skillful and careful,” then they are liable to medical malpractice, but this issue is often the heart of the case and the proving point needed. In most cases, this requires an independent medical review to confirm.
- The doctor’s actions lead to harm: Generally, people who are seeing a doctor are already sick or injured, so it can be an issue to prove that the actions taken by any doctor are what caused harm for the patient, not the existing disease, condition, or injury. The patient has to show that the doctor’s actions “more likely than not” directly caused harm for your case to hold value.
- The negligence and harm lead to an injury: Even after you prove all the above, the crux of the case is that you suffered directly from your doctor’s negligent actions. This can include anything from physical pain, mental anguish, lost work, or extra medical bills.
Contact our Medical Malpractice Lawyer on Long Island
If you can prove all of these, you may have a medical malpractice case you can pursue. While any case of medical malpractice can be hard to navigate, with the help of our medical malpractice lawyers on Long Island, we can make your situation much easier and pain-free for you. Reach out to us at Tannenbaum, Bellatone, & Silver, P.C., medical malpractice lawyer on Long Island, and see how we can help you and your family today!