You’ve been going to your orthopedic specialist for a long time to treat ongoing swelling in your knees, and every month you receive injections to curb the swelling and your pain.
Suddenly, one of the injections causes a reaction, and for the last year, your knee aches like never before. Though you like your doctor, you’re furious that the knee has never been the same. There is no remedy on the horizon, and you and your family are considering legal action.
You’re wondering if you should be considering a malpractice lawsuit, although in many ways the medical issues you are now facing could be called a personal injury.
What is the legal course of action?
“When someone’s carelessness causes injury to another person, a personal injury case may be filed in court,” said Brian Eisen of The Eisen Law Firm in Beachwood.
“Medical malpractice is a specific type of personal injury case, where a medical professional – a doctor, a nurse, a hospital, for example – is careless and causes injury while treating a patient.
“So, if a doctor drives through a red light and smashes into you, you may file a personal injury case against the doctor. But if the same doctor prescribes you the wrong medicine and causes you injury, you may file a medical malpractice case.”
“Medical malpractice claims require proving that the medical provider did not provide reasonable medical care, and that failure resulted in harm to the patient,” Jonathan Mester, managing partner at Nuremberg Paris Injury Lawyers, said. “Personal injury cases are simply claims resulting from injuries which are alleged to have been caused by another person, including car accidents, slips and falls, etc.”
In some states, financial remedy against doctors in a malpractice case is capped at $300,000. That turns away many firms;