Medical Malpractice 101

Published on September 13, 2015

Medical Malpractice is among the top three leading causes of death in the U.S. – just after heart disease and cancer. Each year, an estimated 440,000 people lose their life from preventable medical mistakes. That’s a pretty frightening statistic that makes widespread knowledge of medical malpractice essential to patient safety. Let’s start with the basics of medical malpractice.

What is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice in Arizona, also called medical negligence, is when a doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider fails to provide the standard of care expected of any reasonably competent member of the Arizona medical community in the same specialty, when providing treatment to a similar patient in similar circumstances, and causes the patient to suffer an injury or death.

Medical malpractice can be an act of commission—doing something that causes the injury, or omission—failing to perform a test, treatment, or type of care that should have been provided. When a healthcare provider can be proven to have breached this standard of care, he or she may be held liable for medical malpractice, and the injured patient or bereaved family may be able to receive monetary compensation for damages to their finances, emotional well being, and quality of life.

Types of Medical Malpractice include:
Anesthesia Errors
Birth Injuries
Cerebral Palsy
Emergency Room Mistakes
Failure to Diagnose
Wrongful diagnosis or misdiagnosis
Gastric Bypass Malpractice
Hospital Malpractice
Medication & Prescription Errors
Shoulder Dystocia
Surgical Errors
Wrongful Death

What should you do if you or a loved one falls victim to medical malpractice?

If you or someone you love has been injured or killed by a careless, negligent, or incompetent doctor, you naturally want to see that justice is done. That means that you and your family are adequately compensated for your damages.

But perhaps just as important, by holding healthcare providers accountable for their failure to live up to their moral and legal responsibility— to avoid doing harm, to provide appropriate medical treatment, and to deliver the standard of care that is accepted by the Arizona medical community— you are doing your part to prevent future occurrences of negligent and dangerous medical treatment.

Knapp & Roberts is a Phoenix law firm dedicated to improving the quality of medical care in Arizona by holding healthcare providers accountable for the quality of their treatment, and to achieving justice for patients who have been victims of medical negligence and incompetence. If you or a member of your family has suffered from medical malpractice, contact our experienced Phoenix medical malpractice attorneys to find out if you have a case.

If you choose to bring us on board to represent you, we will investigate your claim, call upon medical experts to identify the error and how it deviated from the standard of care recognized by Arizona’s medical community, and work tirelessly to win a settlement or jury verdict that adequately reflects the full range of your damages.

Not only is the initial consultation free, you will pay us absolutely nothing at all unless we obtain an award of money for you. Call us at 480-991-7677 or fill out the Do I Have a Case Form on our website today for a free consultation.