Medical negligence and malpractice is an act or omission by a health care provider that causes either emotional or physical harm to a patient when he/she deviates from accepted standards of practice in the medical community.
Medical malpractice is professional negligence from the doctor or surgeon’s side in their failure to exercise the expected degree of care and skill when dealing with a patient.
There are four essential elements that must be present in a medical malpractice personal injury claim:
There must be a doctor – patient relationship. This means that the health care practitioner has a duty to act in the patient’s best interest following a number of consultations between the two parties.
There must be a breach of such duty from the health practitioner’s side. The health practitioner must excise a degree of care or medical skill that another healthcare professional in the same specialty would have used in the same situation. In most cases an expert will be called to testify on the type of procedures followed by all or most health care practitioners.
The third element to deal with is damage. The patient must have suffered some form of emotional or physical injury while in the doctor’s care. The type of injury can either be a new one, or an aggravation of an existing injury which must have caused harm or damage to the patient.
The forth element that must be established is whether the patient’s injury was caused by the health care practitioner. Onus will be on the patient to prove that the health care practitioner failed to provide them with the expected degree of care and skill when performing his/her duty. The duty of the health care practitioner will be evaluated when determining whether he/she has deviated from the normal or required standard of practice. It is vital that the patient prove that the injury was caused by the health care practitioner’s action.
One must keep in mind that should a patient not be happy with the outcome of the procedure or that they did not get the desired effect from the procedure, that this does not automatically afford them a claim based on a medical malpractice suit. Obtaining the medical report can assist you with this proof, in order for you to establish the forth element.
Greyvensteins Inc. – Medical negligence Lawyers Port Elizabeth
Greyvensteins Inc. have a group of enthusiastic attorneys who are dedicated to their clients.
We have a knowledgeable team of litigants who love challenges and Professional Negligence & Medical Malpractice cases.
We may act either for the healthcare professional or for the patient.
We have defended doctors, staff, laboratories, clinics and hospitals in Professional Negligence & Medical Malpractice actions.
We have also assisted clients in the past wanting to take action against health care practitioners, by determining whether or not our client has in fact been the victim of such malpractice.
At the end of the day it is our duty to put the interest of our client first by providing them with legal advice and the best way forward.
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