Have you been a victim of Maryland medical malpractice? If you’ve recently suffered an injury that you believe was the fault of the physician who treated you, it’s possible that you have been a victim of medical malpractice.
That being said, there are a number of criteria you have to meet in order to have a compelling case. It’s not uncommon for someone to think they have a case only to find that their situation does not meet all the necessary criteria.
So in today’s blog, we’re going to talk about what your case needs in order to be strong enough for you to have a chance at receiving compensation. Keep on reading to learn more.
Maryland Medical Malpractice: Have I Been a Victim?
Was a doctor-patient relationship established?
A doctor-patient relationship means that the doctor was seeing you and treating you. This is easily established, except in rare cases where a doctor gave indirect consultation but did not administer the treatment.
Was the physician negligent?
The physician must have been negligent in diagnosing or treating the patient. Negligence is when the physician does not meet the standard of care.
The standard of care is what a competent physician would be expected to do under similar circumstances. So if the doctor recommended one treatment method, but a competent doctor would have recommended a different method, the standard of care has not been met.
Did this negligence result in injury?
The physician’s negligence must result in injury to the patient. The patient must prove that it’s more likely than not that this negligence was the cause of the injury. If the physician was negligent but the patient was not injured, then medical malpractice has not occurred.
Did the injury lead to specific and significant damages?
Finally, the patient must demonstrate that the injury led to specific and significant damages. These damages must have a severely negative impact on their quality of life. The patient must be able to demonstrate what the injury was and how it affected him or her.