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What Qualifies as Medical Negligence in Pennsylvania?
When you visit your doctor for a diagnosis or head to the hospital for surgery, you don’t expect to become the victim of medical negligence in Pennsylvania. However, medical errors are more common than you may think, and the outcome can be disastrous for those affected.
If you believe you’ve been injured by your provider’s carelessness, our attorneys can help you seek justice. Here’s what to know about medical negligence claims in the commonwealth.
What Is Medical Negligence?
Medical negligence is a failure to act in the same manner as a similarly trained provider would in the same circumstances. It’s a bit similar to regular negligence, except that medical providers are required to meet an acceptable standard of care. If they don’t meet that standard of care, they’ve committed negligence.
Negligence can also include a failure to act. For example, if a doctor failed to perform a surgery that any other doctor would have performed under the same circumstances, this would qualify as medical negligence.
Examples of Medical Negligence in Pennsylvania
The term “medical negligence” sounds a bit nebulous. To better understand it, it’s helpful to review a few examples of what negligence is.
- Jacob went in for surgery, and the anesthesiologist gave him a higher dose of anesthesia than required, causing him to develop life-threatening breathing problems.
- Sasha has been complaining about various maladies to her doctor for months. Any other doctor would have ordered tests to uncover her ailment, but her doctor failed to do so.
- Andrew’s doctor tells him that he has indigestion and sends him away with antacids. Andrew continues to have digestive woes for months. Finally, he sees another doctor, who promptly diagnoses him with colon cancer. Because his original doctor missed the cancer, it’s spread elsewhere, making treatment more difficult.
Other examples include:
- Birth injuries
- Leaving surgical tools inside a patient’s body
- Failing to monitor a patient
- Not getting informed consent for surgery
Medical Negligence vs. Malpractice
Many people think that medical negligence and medical malpractice are the same thing, but this isn’t so. For a provider’s actions to count as malpractice, their negligence must be the direct cause of their patient’s harm.
For example, suppose that a doctor misdiagnosed their patient as having the common cold when they actually had COVID-19. If the patient becomes seriously ill or dies because of this misdiagnosis, that would be malpractice. However, if the patient fully recovers, the misdiagnosis did not harm the patient and it wouldn’t qualify as malpractice.
Who May Be Liable for Medical Negligence in Pennsylvania?
Any healthcare provider who deviates from the proper standard of care can be held liable for negligence. That includes:
- Surgeons
- Nurses
- Dentists
- Physicians assistants
- Hospitals
Per Pennsylvania law, medical facilities, such as hospitals and doctor’s offices, are liable for negligence committed by their employees. That means you can sue the facility even if it didn’t directly have a hand in the negligence.
The Elements of Medical Negligence Legal Claims
To win a medical negligence claim, your attorney must prove these elements:
- Duty: First, your lawyer must show that you had a patient-provider relationship with the facility or doctor who treated you. Having this relationship establishes the provider’s duty of care to you.
- Dereliction: Next, your attorney needs to prove the provider’s dereliction of duty. This means that the provider’s actions deviated from acceptable care practices.
- Damages: To win a negligence claim, you must have incurred actual damages, such as pain and suffering.
- Direct cause: Your lawyer must show that the provider’s actions were a substantial factor in causing your damages.
Want Justice for Healthcare Errors? Contact Our Attorneys
Ready to start your claim for medical negligence in Pennsylvania? Want to learn more about patient rights? Call Scartelli Olszewski, P.C. at 570-346-2600 or contact us online for a consultation.
