When a patient goes to a New York hospital, it is expected that any doctor, nurse or practitioner providing care will act in accordance with accepted safety standards. One only has to review the latest data regarding medical malpractice statistics to realize there are many who don’t. In order to determine if a particular injury or illness was caused by medical negligence, it’s important to first understand more about standard of care, and how to recognize when medical staff members have fallen short of the mark.
In the past, standard of care was gauged more on geographical location and comparisons of similar medical practices within the same regions. Nowadays, however, a more uniform approach has been developed. It is now thought there are basic skills and knowledge that all licensed medical professionals should possess as they diagnose, treat and otherwise care for patients.
Of course, there are specialty fields within the medical industry, but all licensed doctors within certain fields should be able to attest to the typical performance that is expected within their particular fields. When a patient has suffered injury due to medical negligence, third party testimony is often enlisted by the plaintiff’s attorney so official medical opinions can substantiate a claim. Doctors, nurses and other medical workers sometimes testify against colleagues when errors have been made that have caused bodily harm to patients.
Medical malpractice is not going away any time soon. Sadly, many patients in New York will likely suffer various injuries and illnesses because their medical providers failed to provide the accepted standard of care. If that happens, an attorney can be hired to help file a personal injury claim in court.
Source: FindLaw, “Standard of Care: Treatment and Surgery“, Accessed on March 22, 2017
