The number of avoidable injuries that occur due to medical-related errors is a growing concern for the insurance industry, the medical community, and the public. Even in a routine appointment with your family doctor or dentist, the chances of medical errors exist.

Whether it is a prescription error, misdiagnosis, or a severe surgical error, these mistakes could form grounds for a medical malpractice claim, which differs from a negligence claim in many ways. The difference between a malpractice claim and a negligence claim lies in whose behavior or conduct led to your injuries and losses.

Understanding the difference between negligence and malpractice can help you make knowledgeable decisions about what type of injury claim to file to hold the at-fault party accountable for your losses. Read on to understand the differences between medical malpractice and negligence in the eyes of the law.

Medical Malpractice Versus Negligence

Although malpractice and negligence are civil cases, they have different meanings and legal implications. Here is what you need to know about malpractice and negligence, respectively:

Malpractice

As the name suggests, malpractice occurs when a professional working in his/her area of expertise or specialization fails to use the standard care that a reasonably careful and sober person in the same field would use. In a few words, this is a higher standard of care than what you would expect from non-professionals.

Examples of professionals who must observe this higher standard of care to prevent unnecessary and avoidable injuries include:

  • Surgeons.
  • Doctors.
  • Psychiatrists.
  • Nurses.
  • Medical specialists.
  • Lawyers.

Negligence

Negligence occurs when a company or a person with a legal duty to care for another individual fails or refuses to uphold it, leading to avoidable injuries. In a few words, negligence is the legal concept used to determine whether a company or person's recklessness or carelessness caused your injuries. You could have a viable compensation claim if you sustained an injury due to another person's negligence.

Although the standard of care you must observe and uphold to avoid causing foreseeable accidents can vary, people must meet the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe under similar circumstances. When you fail to do that, the court will consider your case as negligence, and you could be accountable for the victim's (injured person's) losses.

Below are examples of common negligence acts that could lead to unnecessary injuries:

  • Driving under the influence of alcohol or while distracted, causing an auto accident.
  • Failing or refusing to clear ice from the sidewalk, causing another person to slip and fall.

The injuries caused by these negligent acts could range from minor bone breakages to severe injuries like traumatic brain injuries. The sooner you contact an injury attorney after suffering an injury due to another person's negligence, the higher your chances of securing a desirable outcome in your claim against the at-fault party.

You could qualify for maximum compensation for your injuries caused by another person's negligent behavior if your attorney can prove the following elements of negligence to the court:

  • Someone or an entity has a legal duty of care towards you.
  • He/she breached his/her duty of care towards you.
  • The breach of that legal duty of care is the cause of your injuries.
  • You have incurred financial losses or damages due to that injury.

Notable Differences Between Malpractice and Negligence

Many notable differences between malpractice and negligence stem from or arise from the legal standard of care that one must meet to avoid foreseeable and unnecessary injuries. Listed below are some of these differences:

  • Negligence is the refusal or failure to use or observe reasonable duty of care that a reasonably standard person would observe in the same situation to avoid foreseeable accidents or injuries. On the other hand, malpractice is the failure, mainly by a medical practitioner, to provide the necessary level of care that another reasonably standard and sober professional would under the same circumstances.
  • In a negligence injury claim, anyone could be the defendant. However, in a malpractice claim, only certain professionals or experts, while acting within the scope of their employment, could be liable for your injuries.
  • If someone's negligence has caused your injuries, you can file an injury claim or lawsuit against him/her to secure compensation for your losses. However, if your injuries are due to professional malpractice, you can only file a malpractice claim to secure compensation for your losses.

Generally speaking, negligence and malpractice claims are different in many ways. Other distinctions between a claim based on malpractice and negligence include:

  • A malpractice claim has a shorter deadline or statute of limitations than a negligence claim. Typically, you have one (1) year from the specific date of knowing about or discovering the injury to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. However, if another person's negligence caused your injury claim, you will have a maximum of two (2) years from the date of the injury to file your lawsuit against the at-fault party.
  • A medical malpractice claim has a damage cap, meaning there is a limit to the compensation you can receive. However, most injury claims based on negligence have no damage caps except for non-economic damages.

Determining whether your case is a negligence claim or malpractice is an issue you should leave to a qualified and experienced injury attorney. A seasoned injury attorney can evaluate the facts of your case to determine whether it involves negligence or malpractice and take appropriate legal action to hold the at-fault party accountable for your losses.

Understanding Duty of Care in Negligence and Medical Malpractice Claims

The duty or responsibility of care expected in malpractice claims is that of a standard and reasonably careful healthcare provider in a similar situation. However, the duty of care expected in injury cases based on the theory of negligence is that of a sober and reasonable individual in a similar situation and circumstances.

When a healthcare provider is within the scope of his/her work, the standard of care expected from him/her exceeds that of an ordinary person. However, your attorney must check the healthcare provider's medical records and history to determine whether a legal duty of care exists.

The Distinction Between Medical Negligence and Medical Malpractice

Although legally, medical negligence and medical malpractice are interchangeable, they have clear distinctions. Medical malpractice is one of the crucial components or elements of medical malpractice, but there is a slight difference between the two.

In a nutshell, a healthcare provider, like a nurse or doctor, commits medical malpractice when he/she violates discipline doctrines and professional ethics crucial to his/her work, leading to a patient's injury.

For example, when a surgical team is rushing to perform emergency surgery on a patient and opts to forgo sterilization of some of the needed equipment. Unfortunately, this decision puts the patient at risk of an infection during or worse after the surgery.

In that situation, the surgical team could be accountable for any injuries or losses the patient will suffer due to their malpractice or failure to uphold the required medical standards.

On the other hand, medical negligence occurs when a doctor or healthcare provider accidentally causes a patient to suffer an injury during treatment. In a worst-case scenario, medical negligence could leave a patient with severe injuries or with a rapid deterioration of his/her medical issue. Medical prescriptions are a common medical field where medical negligence happens.

For instance, when a doctor prescribes a medicine without noting the potential interaction of the drug with your body, causing avoidable severe complications or side effects, he/she could be accountable for medical negligence.

Generally speaking, the primary difference between these two types of actions in medical-related injuries is intent. In a medical malpractice case, your injury attorney must prove to the court that the healthcare provider was aware or should have known that his/her behavior or conduct would cause an injury, leading to a breach of the required standard of care.

However, in a medical negligence claim, your attorney must prove that the healthcare provider's omission or unintended act during medical treatment led to your injuries to qualify for compensatory damages.

Examples of Medical Actions That Could Form a Ground for a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Not only surgeons, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers mentioned in the previous paragraph could be held accountable in medical malpractice cases. Supervisors, managers, and healthcare facilities could also be liable for your injuries and losses caused by medical malpractice for failing to supervise or delegate duties appropriately.

That is also true when an employer hires an employee without ensuring he/she is qualified, resulting in a patient's injury. Although these are various forms of medical malpractice, they are not common. Below are examples of medical actions that could form the basis for a medical malpractice lawsuit:

  1. Failure to Diagnose or Misdiagnosis

A doctor or healthcare provider could be accountable for medical malpractice for failing to diagnose your health condition correctly, leading to incorrect or delayed treatment. If you received delayed treatment for your health condition due to a misdiagnosis, you could have a viable malpractice claim against the liable doctor or medical facility.

  1. Failure to Obtain Proper and informed Consent

Before performing any treatment, your doctor must inform and explain to you the intended treatment plan and the potential side effects. As a patient, you have a right to know all the potential risks associated with a treatment, including the risk of refusing the recommended treatment.

If you are uncomfortable with the treatment, your doctor should inform you of the available alternative treatments. If your doctor did not obtain proper consent before administering a treatment, you can file a malpractice claim against him/her to obtain compensation for your losses.

  1. Childbirth Injury

A medical mistake during childbirth or postpartum could cause chronic complications for an infant and, at other times, the death of the mother. Examples of these kinds of medical errors include:

  1. Performing an unnecessary C-section
  2. Inadequate prenatal care
  3. Incorrect use of forceps or other surgical tools
  4. A delay in performing a C-section or failure to perform this crucial procedure
  5. Failing to diagnose available infections
  6. Failing to monitor a mother or the baby during labor

All these avoidable medical errors during childbirth could form grounds for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit to receive damages for your losses associated with the mistake.

  1. Medication Errors

A wrong dose or medication could cause a bad reaction in your body. The key cause of medication issues among most patients is a lack of proper communication within the responsible healthcare team. When physicians fail to communicate with each other, it creates the risk of administering or prescribing the wrong medications to patients or giving the wrong dose.

Although this is understandable, it violates medical ethics and the standard of care that healthcare providers must uphold. Another reason a doctor or nurse could give you the wrong medication or dose is failure to obtain your full medical records and transcription errors. When this happens to you or a loved one, you could have a viable medical malpractice claim against the at-fault party.

  1. Failure to Order Proper Medical Tests

A doctor must order or perform proper tests before performing any medical treatment on a patient. If your doctor fails to order or perform proper medical tests to diagnose your health condition, he/she could be liable for medical malpractice.

  1. Failure to Treat or Offer Follow-up Care

Once a doctor arrives at the correct diagnosis of your medical condition, it is up to him/her to provide the necessary treatment to help you heal and improve your health. If your doctor fails to provide proper treatment follow-up care or refer you to a specialist after arriving at the correct diagnosis, he/she could be liable for your losses in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

  1. Surgical Errors

Another medical action by a doctor or surgeon that could give you legal grounds for filing a malpractice lawsuit is surgical error. Below are examples of common surgical errors that could lead to a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit:

  • Anesthesia errors.
  • Inappropriate or unnecessary surgeries.
  • Operating on the wrong body organ or part.
  • Cutting another body part or organ by mistake.
  • Operating on the wrong patient.
  • Leaving surgical instruments or devices on a patient's body.

If any of the above medical actions or errors led to your injuries or unnecessary financial losses, you could have a viable medical malpractice claim or lawsuit to secure damages for all your losses. A skilled and seasoned injury attorney can investigate the details of your unique case and tell you whether you have a viable medical malpractice claim.

The sooner you contact an attorney, the higher your chances are of securing a desirable outcome in your lawsuit.

Potential Damages You Could Receive in an Injury Claim

A medical-related injury can significantly impact various aspects of your life, including your physical, financial, and emotional well-being. That is why once you hire an attorney, he/she will conduct a comprehensive assessment of your case to determine the impact of the injuries on your past, present, and future life.

When calculating your claim's worth, your attorney will consider the non-economic (non-monetary) and economic (monetary) losses resulting from your injury or infection. Then, he/she will send a demand letter to your medical provider's insurer to negotiate a fair settlement for your case.

If your medical provider's insurer is unwilling to give you a fair settlement for your claim, your attorney can file a lawsuit against them. When everything goes in your favor, you could receive compensation for the following losses:

  1. Medical Costs

The compensation you will receive for your medical-related injury caused by malpractice should cover all your medical costs since the date of the injury, including:

  • Medication costs.
  • Therapy costs.
  • Doctor visits costs.
  • Corrective surgery costs.
  • Future medical expenses.

  1. Pain and Suffering

A medical-related injury can make it challenging or impossible to enjoy life henceforth. Fortunately, a successful medical malpractice claim will award you damages for all your non-economic losses caused by the injury, including pain and suffering, depression, and anxiety.

  1. Lost Wages and Lost Earning Capacity

If the injuries affected your ability to work and earn income to settle your bills, you will receive compensation for your lost wages if your medical malpractice claim is successful. You will also qualify for damages for your future earning capacity if the medical-related injury affects your ability to work and earn income.

  1. Loss of Consortium

Sometimes, an injury caused by medical malpractice or negligence could be severe, leading to the death of the patient. If a loved one succumbs to death due to medical malpractice, you could receive compensation for the loss of consortium through a wrongful death claim or lawsuit.

Find a Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

Regardless of whether your claim is due to malpractice or negligence, the results could be devastating and life-changing. While compensation cannot undo the injuries, it will help you live a comfortable life. At Orange County Personal Injury Attorney, we can help you or your loved one obtain compensation for the losses caused by medical malpractice.

We understand how complex and confusing medical malpractice or negligence claims can be, and we will do our best to help secure a desirable outcome. Call us at 714-876-1959 to discuss your case with our understanding and seasoned personal injury attorneys.