Danville, PA is home to one of central Pennsylvania’s largest and most complete healthcare systems. Geisinger Medical Center and its nationally-recognized specialty areas, such as the Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital, draw patients from around the state and across the country to our town. With several other hospitals and care facilities throughout the areas surrounding Danville, healthcare is a vital part of our community.
We at Stapp Law, LLC know that hard-working medical providers have saved thousands of lives in Danville. That fact makes it even more important that we fight against any form of medical negligence that puts lives in danger. Medical malpractice should never be allowed to undermine the efforts of diligent healthcare professionals. A Danville medical malpractice lawyer from Stapp Law, LLC may be able to represent you in taking legal action after an act of negligence that led to injury.
If you were the victim of medical negligence, a Danville medical malpractice lawyer from our office can meet to answer questions about the legal options available to you and your family. We represent those injured through medical malpractice in Montour County and central Pennsylvania. We offer free consultations to injured victims and families who are considering filing a medical malpractice claim against a negligent party.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
A study published by Johns Hopkins Medicine named medical error the third leading cause of death in the United states—more than 250,000 deaths per year. Medical malpractice is an area of personal injury law that deals with medical negligence leading to patient injury. Medical malpractice refers to a situation in which a patient is harmed by a medical professional who does not perform their duties as they should. In this situation, a doctor (or other healthcare provider) fails to live up to a standard of care that patients have the right to expect. Medical malpractice can be a specific action or an omission that leads to harm.
Medical malpractice law does not apply exclusively to doctors. This area of the law covers all aspects of medical and dental care. Any medical professional who provides patient care has a duty to uphold certain standards as defined by the law. A healthcare professional in a medical malpractice case may be a doctor or dentist, nurse, medical technician, surgeon, hospital staff member, pharmacist, or a specialist such as an oncologist, gynecologist, or pediatrician.
Proving Medical Malpractice
There are a number of elements involved in proving that medical malpractice occurred. If our law firm advocates for you after an injury, a Danville medical malpractice attorney will need to establish that your injury was the result of medical negligence. There are certain criteria that must be met in order for an injured patient to be eligible to file a medical malpractice claim. In a medical malpractice case, it must be established that:
- A doctor-patient relationship between you and your healthcare provider existed
- The doctor (or other medical professional) owed you a duty of care (a legal obligation to meet certain standards of medical care)
- The duty of care was breached (violated) by the healthcare provider
- The breach of duty led to your injury
- The injury resulted in damages to you (such as medical bills or pain and suffering)
Injuries resulting from medical malpractice are preventable. If another doctor had acted differently under the same circumstances, the injury would not have happened. But it’s important to remember that just because you are unhappy with the care your doctor or nurse provided, it does not mean that medical malpractice occurred. There must be clear evidence that a duty of care was breached and that you suffered specific damages as a result.
Medical malpractice is a complicated area of personal injury law. It is also one of the most important legal practice areas, as it helps us fight against some of the greatest injustices in our society. More accidental deaths are caused by medical error or medical negligence than all other causes of accidental death combined, including motor vehicle accident deaths. If you are not sure what to do after an injury you believe was caused by medical negligence, a Danville medical malpractice attorney from Stapp Law, LLC can help you and your family discuss options for moving forward after injury.
Where Does Medical Malpractice Happen in Danville?
Medical malpractice often happens in a hospital, but that is not the only place a medical error can occur. Laws regarding medical malpractice in Pennsylvania recognize that negligence leading to injury can happen in a variety of healthcare settings. Medical negligence or error can occur in places including:
- Physician’s offices
- Hospitals
- Private practices
- Operating rooms (OR)
- Emergency rooms (ER)
- Inpatient care centers
- Health clinics
- Dentist’s offices
- Ophthalmologist’s offices
- Pediatric care centers
- Any other medical facility where care is administered
In past medical malpractice cases, errors such as surgery performed on the wrong body part, misdiagnosed illnesses, and surgical instruments left inside the patient have led to harm. There are a number of ways that medical malpractice can occur. Sometimes it is a matter of distraction or direct carelessness on the part of a doctor or nurse, such as when labels are not checked and the wrong medication is administered. Many times the primary issue is poor communication, as may the case when proper notes are not taken and a patient is given a medicine to which they are severely allergic.
In other situations, there may be a more systemic problem related to staffing or training practices, such as when hospital administration allows overworking and understaffing to become normal practice. Under these conditions, an overtired or poorly-trained worker may make a mistake that points to negligence on the part of hospital management personnel. Medical malpractice lawsuits become especially important in situations like these because they bring attention to major issues that affect both patients and the medical community as a whole. No matter what kind of error led to your injury, a Danville medical malpractice lawyer from Stapp Law, LLC will work to make sure that liability is established and the at-fault party (or parties) is held accountable.
What Are the Most Common Types of Medical Malpractice?
The following list provides examples of some of the most common types of medical malpractice claims:
- Birth injuries
- Surgical errors
- Anesthesia errors
- Misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, or failure to diagnose
- Failure to treat
- Improper or inadequate treatment
- Medication errors (incorrect medicine, incorrect dosage, or administered incorrectly)
- Errors during a medical procedure
- Unsterilized equipment leading to infection
- Failure to protect from infection
- ER mistakes
- Failure to warn of known risks
Legal Options After Medical Negligence
When you are represented by a Danville medical malpractice attorney from Stapp Law, LLC, you have the experienced legal advocacy to give your case the best chance of a successful outcome. Our firm believes that our job is to make the lives of our clients better, and in doing so we work to improve the larger community around us. Through every client we represent, we seek justice and improved quality of life for our friends and neighbors in Danville and central PA.
Medical negligence kills hundreds of thousands of individuals each year. Through legal action against medical malpractice, we strive to promote patient health as the top priority of the healthcare industry. Profits should never come before patient care. Stapp Law, LLC represents injured clients in Danville, PA, Montour County, and nearby central Pennsylvania. A Danville medical malpractice lawyer is available for free consultations about your case.
