Do you think that you’ve been a victim of medical malpractice in Maryland? If you’ve suffered a serious injury that was the fault of a health care provider, you may be a victim of medical malpractice, and you may be entitled to compensation. Learn more about medical malpractice and what to do if you’ve suffered an injury in our blog.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs when a health care provider fails to meet the standard of care during the treatment of a patient, resulting in a severe and/or permanent injury that has a substantial effect on the patient’s quality of life.
What is the Standard of Care?
The standard of care is defined as the care that that would be provided by another professional health care provider given the condition of the patient. Essentially, it’s what a reasonable professional would do when confronted with the patient’s condition. If 9/10 doctors would recommend a certain treatment to a patient suffering from an illness, then this would be considered the standard of care. If a health care provider does not meet the standard of care, he or she is considered to have been medically negligent.
What is Medical Negligence?
Medical negligence occurs when a health care provider does not meet the standard of care. However, even if a health care provider is medically negligent, this does not necessarily mean that he or she has committed medical malpractice. In order for there to be medical malpractice, the medical negligence must lead to an injury that is severe and/or permanent, and that has a significant negative impact on the patient’s quality of life.
What to Know About Medical Malpractice in Maryland
There is a statute of limitations on the window of time after medical malpractice has occurred in which a patient can file a medical malpractice suit. There is also a cap on non-economic damages (awards for pain and suffering) in medical malpractice cases in Maryland. There is no cap on economic damages (lost wages, medical bills, etc.). You can learn more about these in our blogs. You can also learn how to determine if a doctor has faced medical malpractice claims in the past.