Medical malpractice claims In Idaho are complex. This transcript of a Hepworth Holzer podcast with Kurt Holzer discusses some of the basic issues arising in those cases.
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What is medical malpractice?
Kurt : Medical malpractice is negligence by a healthcare provider. It’s a violation of the appropriate standard of care by the provider that causes an injury to the patient. In some ways, it’s similar to a car collision. If you cause an injury by not stopping at the stop sign, you breach the standard of care for driving. There are similar standards in the medical arena.
What are examples of medical malpractice?
Kurt: A surgeon leaves a sponge inside you that leads to an infection, or they operate on your left knee when they’re supposed to operate on your right knee. Those are the very simple, straightforward examples. However, medical care is complex. For instance, what if knee surgery is performed and your knee still doesn’t work? Is it malpractice or merely a risk? Being able to evaluate the negative outcome caused by inappropriate behavior of the healthcare provider is the essence of evaluating malpractice. It’s good to have a Medical Malpractice Lawyer Boise ID.
How can I determine if a doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider has committed medical malpractice?
Kurt: This key is, did they do something wrong? That’s why this type of litigation is extremely expensive and requires specialists on the legal and medical side. Neither you as a patient, nor myself as an attorney can reach the conclusion a provider has committed medical malpractice without an expert involved. In Idaho, the legislature requires it. It has to be somebody with the appropriate training, experience, knowledge and background to look at the provider and say, “This person broke the rules, committed malpractice by doing it the wrong way. They didn’t live up to the standard of care.” The provider can be an orthopedic surgeon or a heart surgeon or a gastroenterologist or a nurse.
Whom can I sue for medical malpractice? Is it the doctor, the hospital? Who is it?
Kurt: Who committed the malpractice? A lot of times, the doctor is an employee of the hospital. Just like the employee of a pizza delivery operation, that operation is responsible if the employee causes a car wreck. If the doctor is an employee of the hospital, you sue the hospital for the doctor’s actions. Some doctors work for themselves and sometimes it’s a separate sub-entity that is contracted with the hospital. We make sure we don’t sue the wrong entity.
Deciding the appropriate defendant can be fraught with risk. You have two years from the date in which somebody hurt you to pursue your claim. If you sue the wrong person and time runs out, your case gets thrown out and the person who did wrong gets away with it. That’s why you need an Attorney for Malpractice Lawsuit Boise ID.
Why should I come to you for help?
Kurt: There’s no law firm in Idaho that has a longer or more storied history in taking care of people who have been wronged by healthcare providers. We have the largest medical malpractice verdicts in the state of Idaho. Our approach is to focus on you and bring technical expert and relationships with healthcare providers to bear to help evaluate and pursue your case. You should come to us because we’re the best, plain and simple.
Call Attorney Charlie Hepworth or John Kluksdal at (208) 328-6998