Medical negligence and medical malpractice involve harm to a patient by a medical provider. The primary difference between the two is a distinction between intent and a mistake. Medical negligence involves a mistake, while medical malpractice involves intent. This blog examines some common forms of medical negligence and medical malpractice to help explain the difference.
Medical Providers Owe a Duty of Care to Their Patients
A duty of care is the obligation to perform conduct required by custom, law, or morality. A medical provider has a legal duty to provide medical care that meets the acceptable medical standard for a specific situation.
Testimony from medical experts is used to determine the medical standard of care for a given situation. The standard of care is the established practices and norms accepted within the medical community.
Negligence and medical malpractice occur when a healthcare provider deviates from the medical standard of care. The breach of duty must be a direct and proximate cause of the harm the patient sustained. In other words, the patient would not have suffered harm had it not been for the doctor’s conduct.
Examples of Medical Negligence
Many scenarios could result in harm to a patient. Examples of medical negligence include:
- Medication errors: Giving a patient the wrong medication or an incorrect dose of medication or failing to consider drug interactions that could harm the patient.
- Failure to follow up: A doctor’s failure to follow up with a patient after a treatment or procedure could lead to complications that could have been avoided had they been caught early.
- Surgical errors: Mistakes during surgery include operating on the wrong patient, performing surgery on the wrong body part, and leaving instruments inside patients.
- Failing to obtain informed consent: Patients have the right to have all relevant information to make informed medical decisions. Doctors may be negligent when they fail to inform their patients of the risks, benefits, and alternatives to treatment.
- Birth injuries: Negligence may include failing to monitor the baby and mother during labor and delivery for signs of distress, overlooking risk factors, and failing to perform a timely C-section.
- Delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis: Failing to provide an accurate, timely diagnosis can result in harm to the patient from incorrect treatments and lack of treatment.
Negligence is the failure to act with reasonable care. In medical negligence cases, the medical provider failed to meet the expected standard of care because of a mistake or error. The medical provider did not intend to injure the patient but instead made a mistake or error that resulted in injury.
Examples of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice involves intent, but not the same type of intent as you would assume for a criminal act. Instead, the medical provider knows or should have known an act or omission would cause harm to the patient but continued with the conduct. It refers to specific acts or omissions that lead to a patient’s harm or injury.
Examples of medical malpractice include:
- Improperly using medical equipment
- Failing to obtain informed consent
- Administering anesthesia incorrectly
- Failing to diagnose a medical condition
- Ignoring or discounting a patient’s symptoms
- Providing medical care while intoxicated or using drugs
- Rushing through procedures and cutting corners
- Providing care based on what an insurance company will pay instead of informing the patient that the course of treatment is not sufficient
There is a great deal of overlap between medical malpractice and medical negligence. The critical difference is proving that the medical provider knew or should have known their conduct would cause harm to the patient. Knowingly acting against the medical standard led to a breach of care.
What Damages Can I Receive for Medical Negligence and Medical Malpractice in Illinois?
You can recover economic and non-economic damages for medical negligence and medical malpractice. Once you prove the legal elements of your case, you can seek to recover:
- Past and future medical costs and expenses
- Pain and suffering damages
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Impairments and disabilities
- Loss of enjoyment of life and quality of life
- Mental anguish and emotional distress
- Loss of income, including past and future wages, benefits, and earning capacity
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Rehabilitative therapies
- Long-term personal and/or nursing care
The amount you receive depends on the facts of the case. It is crucial to have expert testimony to establish liability for damages in a medical malpractice or medical negligence case. You cannot recover damages unless you prove the medical provider breached their duty of care through negligence or malpractice.
Illinois Medical Malpractice and Medical Negligence Claims Are Complex Injury Cases
If you have questions about medical malpractice or medical negligence claims, contact our law office at Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys for a free consultation with a Joliet medical malpractice lawyer. We will review your case at no cost and advise you of your rights and legal options.
We proudly serve Cook County, Will County, Kendall County, and its surrounding areas:
Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys – Chicago Office
10 S La Salle St STE 1230, Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 726-1616
Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys – Joliet Office
195 Springfield Ave, Joliet, IL 60435
(815) 726-1616
