How Do I Know If I Have a Medical Malpractice Case?

Having a medical malpractice case depends on whether the healthcare professional has adequate skill and knowledge and has devoted the appropriate attention to providing care.

While healthcare providers are not responsible for all bad outcomes, they are required to provide adequate healthcare services.

When harm results from subpar healthcare, you may have a medical malpractice case.

Our experienced Greenville medical malpractice lawyer at Bobby Jones Law can help.

What Qualifies as Medical Malpractice in South Carolina?

When you seek medical care in South Carolina, you have the right to expect competent care.

Your doctor and other healthcare professionals must be skilled in their work. They must devote adequate attention to your care to avoid mistakes and oversights.

The standard is what’s adequate. Healthcare providers must provide services up to a minimum standard of competence and care.

Medical malpractice can occur because of the following:

The doctor or other healthcare professional doesn’t know how to provide care.
The doctor or other healthcare professional doesn’t have the skill for the procedure.
A healthcare provider does a task carelessly, resulting in harm.

A doctor is not an insurer of patient outcomes. However, when a patient is harmed by incompetent care, the patient may have a medical malpractice case.

South Carolina medical malpractice

South Carolina defines medical malpractice as a healthcare professional failing to do what a reasonable healthcare provider would do. It may also be doing what a reasonable healthcare provider would not do. Medical malpractice may be an affirmative act or a failure to act.

Who counts as a medical professional?

Medical malpractice can involve a healthcare provider or a healthcare institution. It isn’t just doctors who can commit medical malpractice. Nurses, pharmacists, chiropractors, optometrists, and other providers can also commit medical malpractice. Associations and other partnerships can be named in a claim for medical malpractice.

Do I Have a Medical Malpractice Case?

When you’re asking yourself, “How do I know if I have a medical malpractice case?” ask the following questions:

What went wrong in my medical care?
Was the healthcare that I received lacking in knowledge, skill, or attention?
Was I harmed? Did I suffer from a worse outcome in my health?
Is medical error the reason for the outcome?

Of course, most people are not medical professionals. When something goes wrong, you may not know if what happened was medical malpractice. You may not have access to the records needed to evaluate the situation.

A medical malpractice lawyer can help. They can assist you in determining if what happened was medical malpractice and can work with qualified experts to build the evidence needed for your case.

Common Examples of Medical Errors That Lead to Lawsuits

Examples of medical errors that lead to lawsuits include the following:

You’re not warned of potential side effects or offered alternative options.
Surgeons leave a sponge or instrument in the body.
Medical error results in the wrong medication or procedure for a patient.
Doctors operate on the wrong body part.
Diagnosis is delayed when doctors do not have the information to make the correct diagnosis initially.
The wrong diagnosis results in incorrect treatment, and the patient fails to get the correct treatment.
A doctor is inexperienced with a medical device or equipment, leading to mistakes.
The patient is not closely monitored during a procedure, leading to a lack of oxygen or other complications.
There are new and better techniques that are used in the local area, and the doctor’s practice is outdated.
Doctors see signs of complications or a bad reaction and fail to respond appropriately.
Someone is given medications that interact with current or new medications, or they’re not given instructions for how to use medications safely.
Medical staff discharge a patient prematurely.

There are many ways that medical malpractice can occur, and each situation is unique.

Key Elements You Must Prove in a Medical Malpractice Case

Elements to prove in a medical malpractice case include the following:

Medical care

Show that you received care from the provider. It can be tricky to determine which professional entity is responsible. The responsible party or parties must be named in the case and served with paperwork.

Services provided

Explain the healthcare that you received from the medical care provider. This means evaluation, diagnostics, procedures, surgery, prescriptions, guidance, and other care.

Standard of care

Prove the professional standard of care. A medical expert can explain the standard that a healthcare professional should have met.

Failure to meet the standard of care

Detail how the healthcare professional failed to meet the reasonable standard of care. Your medical expert can review the provider’s actions.

Causation

Link the care that you received to the harm that occurred. Show how you were hurt by medical malpractice.

Damages

Identify losses. Losses may include treatment costs and personal losses relating to physical injury. You may also claim for lost income, emotional distress, and pain and suffering.

How To Gather Medical Records and Evidence

Evidence needed for the case may be in the hands of the provider. You can ask for your own medical records. Keep a record of appointments, bills, and anything else related to what has happened. Identify witnesses that you are already aware of.

A lawyer can help you with additional tasks like formally requesting records through legal discovery. They can assist with identifying and questioning witnesses. They can take evidentiary disputes to court to fight burdensome requests for invasive medical evidence and to ensure evidence is admitted in your case.