When injured as a result of medical treatment, you may be interested in filing a personal injury claim. However, it’s important to know the legal definition between medical negligence and malpractice, which is where the skilled legal team at the Thompson Law Office comes in. These Lexington, KY, lawyers can provide a keen insight into a wide range of injury cases, which is the first step towards making a claim. How Medical Negligence Is Defined In general, medical negligence involves a mistake when providing care. What is lacking is a distinct intent to harm; rather, the health care provider harmed a patient out of lack of knowledge. For instance, sometimes surgical tools or other items may be left inside a surgical site out of sheer oversight. While this occurrence is no doubt harmful, it was done in error and not with an intent to harm a patient. An attorney well-versed in personal injury can delve deeper into how negligence is proven, which entails comparing the behavior of the health care worker in question to that of a similar worker.
Understanding Medical Malpractice
Conversely, malpractice relates to the standard of care which a medical professional should have applied and then failed to do so. In this case, a medical worker should be well aware of what standard of care to apply in a certain situation but neglected to do so for some specific reason. Reasons can range, from failure to stay up to date on the current state of medicine in a particular field, attempting to save on expensive procedures that a patient may not be able to cover on his or her own or due to some other reason. In both cases, it would need to be proven that the medical worker breached the accepted duty of care. That is, health care staff are beholden to a code that means they must refrain from harming patients due to negligent or intentional actions. From personal injury to wrongful death, Lexington’s Thompson Law Office can help local clients navigate even the toughest cases. Schedule a consultation with an attorney by calling (859) 280-2222 today. If you’d like more information on how they can assist you in making a personal injury claim, feel free to contact them online.