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Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare workers all go to school or receive special on-the-job training on how to perform their jobs and treat patients. As a result, people put a lot of faith in their healthcare practitioners. They trust that their physicians will heal their illnesses and treat their injuries. However, sometimes the medical workers you trust with your health or your loved one’s health make mistakes. Those mistakes can lead to a worsening of a medical condition.

You should seek legal guidance from a skilled personal injury attorney if you believe that a medical error harmed you or your loved one. An Indianapolis medical malpractice lawyer could help you learn about your legal rights.

What Kind of Errors Constitute Malpractice in Indianapolis?

Medical malpractice is not the cause of all adverse medical outcomes. Sadly, even with the most advanced medical technology, innovative medication, and attentive medical care, some people just do not get better with treatment.

In addition, not every mistake made by a healthcare practitioner constitutes malpractice. An error only rises to the level of malpractice when it results in an injury or death to a patient. For example, if a doctor is about to give a patient the wrong dosage of medication, but the patient notices the error before taking the medicine, there is no malpractice because no harm occurred.

Medical Mistakes vs. Medical Malpractice

Like everybody else, sometimes healthcare workers make mistakes. Just because they are medical professionals does not mean they should be expected to be perfect. A mistake becomes malpractice when that healthcare worker fails to use the appropriate standard of care, and harm ensues. A medical practitioner commits malpractice when they deviate from what a reasonably responsible medical practitioner with a similar background, education, and training, would have done if they had been facing a similar situation.

For example, in a malpractice claim, a court would compare a medical technician’s actions to those of another medical technician. The technician would not be held to the same standard of care as a trained physician. If there are questions about whether something rises to the level of malpractice, an Indianapolis medical negligence attorney could give a claimant a better understanding of whether the mistake could rise to the level of actionable malpractice.

Frequent Types of Malpractice

Malpractice can happen in many ways, by various healthcare practitioners, including physicians, nurses, medical technicians, pharmacists, dentists, and hospitals. Some of the most common forms of malpractice are as follows:

  • Missed or delayed diagnoses (a delayed diagnosis can allow a patient’s health to worsen)
  • Pregnancy, labor and delivery, or birth injury incidents
  • Medication mistakes, such as overmedication, under-medication, or giving the wrong drug or dosage
  • Anesthesia errors
  • Surgical negligence
  • Emergency room negligence
  • Hospital-acquired infections, which could lead to dangerous illnesses like sepsis
  • Radiology mistakes, including failure to perform a test correctly, use of faulty equipment, or misinterpretation of results
  • Failure to monitor patients
  • Failure to obtain informed consent

A diligent medical malpractice attorney in Indianapolis could investigate the medical error to see how it happened, who is legally at fault, and what damages are possible.

Let an Indianapolis Medical Malpractice Attorney Help Your Case

A medical error could change the rest of your life as you spend your time fighting to recover physically and emotionally. Let an experienced Indianapolis medical malpractice lawyer help you fight back legally. They could investigate what happened to you and search for evidence of malpractice. The legal team at McCready Law has the experience, resources, and skills to help. Make an appointment today for a free consultation and discuss how to hold the negligent party accountable.