Brooklyn Medical Malpractice Attorneys Ensure You Get What You Deserve

People trust doctors with their lives, however, sometimes that trust seems misplaced. People have gone into hospitals, and instead of getting better, they’ve actually gotten worse. Medical malpractice is an unfortunate reality and has devastating effects on people’s lives as outlined in a recent press release from Senator Bernie Sander’s office:

One 2011 study put the figure at $17 billion a year. Counting indirect costs like lost productivity due to missed work days, medical errors may cost nearly $1 trillion each year, according to a 2012 report in the Journal of Health Care Finance. Lisa McGiffert of Consumers Union spoke about the everyday impact on individuals and families. “People who are harmed lose their jobs, their homes, their insurance. Many go bankrupt trying to pay the medical bills that they would not have had if they had not been harmed by a health care provider,” she said.

Medical Mistakes Are 3rd Leading cause of death in US

Brooklyn medical malpractice attorneys, such as those from The Law Offices of Joseph Lichtenstein, can help patients or family members of loved ones who have suffered from a doctor’s mistakes, seek compensation for their sufferings. Malpractice comes in various forms, and your lawyer should be able to identify the claim that you could file. Mistaken diagnosis occurs when a doctor indicates that you are suffering from one condition and you are actually suffering from another one.

An extreme example of this would be a brain condition being diagnosed as a stomach flu. This can result in incomplete or improper treatment which can lead to injury for the patient. It may sound improbable, but misdiagnoses make up a majority of malpractice cases – a clear sign that even doctors established in their own hospitals or clinics make mistakes.

Negligent treatment is another basis for a malpractice case. A doctor may have diagnosed your condition properly, but the treatment given to you didn’t quite meet the standard of care you should have received. This means that if you’re a 30 year-old asthmatic office worker from Brooklyn, your doctor’s treatment of your asthma should be proper for any 30 year-old office worker from Brooklyn with your medical background.

If your doctor didn’t meet the standards set for your condition when treating you, and your condition takes a turn for the worse, you may have a basis for a case. Malpractice cases don’t just come from misdiagnosis and improper treatment. An experienced Brooklyn medical malpractice lawyer would be able to tell you that equipment failure and malfunction account for 70% of medical errors during surgical procedures.

Furthermore, between 12 to 18 % of malpractice cases are based on faulty equipment and technological failures. This also includes faulty diagnostic equipment, which can contribute to a misdiagnosis.

 

(Source: Medical Mistakes are 3rd Leading Cause of Death in U.S., Bernie Sanders, July 17, 2014)

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