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What Happens If I Am Injured In The Course Of Medical Treatment?

If a medical professional makes an error that results in injury to the patient, the patient may be able to sue the negligent party or parties for monetary damages to compensate him or her for the medical injury. Medical malpractice claims arise when a health care professional or organization provides unskilled or negligent treatment that results in injury to the patient. The underlying basis for a medical malpractice claim is that you sustain an injury as a result of treatment that falls below the accepted standard of medical care for that particular field of professional expertise.

Under Massachusetts law, a physician or other health care provider is charged with possessing and exercising that reasonable degree of skill, care and learning ordinarily exercised by an average qualified physician or other health care provider in similar circumstances. Medical negligence is the failure of a responsible health care provider, either by action or omission, to exercise that degree of skill, care and learning under the particular circumstances.

Some examples of medical malpractice include incorrect diagnosis or failure to diagnose, failure to treat, improper treatment, delay in treatment, prescription errors, surgical errors, foreign object left in the body, failure to properly monitor a patient, failure to order necessary tests, birth injuries, rendition of services without informed consent, etc.

Other Massachusetts Medical Malpractice FAQs

Q: How Do I Know If My Injury Constitutes Medical Malpractice?
A: Medical professionals are not expected to be infallible and there may be poor results from treatment that do not amount to malpractice. To establish malpractice, the … More
Q: Is There A Time Limit In Which I Need To File A Lawsuit For Medical Malpractice?
A: The law requires that you file a lawsuit within a specified period of time depending on the nature of the claim and the entity that caused your injury. This is … More
Q: Who Can Be Held Accountable For The Medical Malpractice?
A: Generally, a medical malpractice claim can be brought against a licensed health care provider. This can include a person, corporation, facility or institution licensed … More
Q: Does Signing A Consent Form Waive My Rights To File A Lawsuit For Medical Malpractice?
A: Signing a consent form in and of itself does not waive your rights. It is possible that the consent form does not contain all of the relevant information that it … More
Q: How Much Can I Expect An Attorney To Charge To Handle A Medical Malpractice Case?
A: Most attorneys who believe a case has merit will take the case without payment up front. They will take the case on a contingency basis, which means they will receive … More
Q: What Damages Can Be Recovered For Medical Malpractice?
A: As a victim of medical malpractice, you can sue for your injuries and all of the direct consequences of those injuries. You can recover your actual economic losses … More
Q: How Can I Determine How Much My Claim Is Worth?
A: Attorneys are prohibited from promising that they will obtain a certain amount of money for you. For purposes of settlement, a claim is valued upon an estimate of what … More