What is medical negligence and how can it be used in a birth injury claim?
Medical negligence, also known as malpractice, refers to a situation in which a healthcare provider or medical institution fails to meet the standards of care expected of them in the course of providing medical care. This type of negligence can take many forms, including failing to diagnose or treat a medical condition, leaving a foreign object inside a patient during a procedure or operation, and prescribing improper medication, among many others. When medical negligence is suspected to be the cause of a birth injury, those who have suffered damage may bring a legal claim against the responsible party. In order to prove medical negligence in a birth injury claim, the plaintiff’s attorney must establish that the medical professional or facility breached their duty of care and that this breach caused the injury. To do this, the plaintiff will often introduce expert witness testimony to demonstrate what constitutes reasonable care in the circumstances and that the care provided fell short of the expected standard. The plaintiff will also have to show that their injury was directly caused by the medical negligence, for example by introducing medical records or other evidence that ties the harm to the negligence. If the medical negligence is successfully established in the birth injury claim, the plaintiff may be entitled to receive compensation to help cover the damages they have suffered due to the injury. In Washington, this could include compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other costs.
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