When sick people go to a doctor or hospital for care, they expect to be helped and not harmed. When health care professionals make a mistake that harms a patient they’re supposed to help it may be considered medical malpractice. Legally, malpractice occurs when a doctor, nurse or other medical caregiver fails to care for a patient according to the accepted standards of care within the medical profession. This failure causes a new injury or illness to the patient, or aggravates an existing one.

If you or someone you care about may have been the victim of medical malpractice, contact the Louthian Law Firm today toll free at 888-662-0434 or locally at 803-454-1200. You can also contact us online for a free evaluation of your case.

While medical malpractice can be a deliberate act, such as amputating a healthy limb, it is often also a failure to act, such as not sanitizing equipment well or not diagnosing a deadly disease. The Institutes of Medicine estimates that such errors kill 40,000 to 98,000 Americans each year; an additional 7,000 die from drug prescription errors.

Common types of medical malpractice include:

• Delay or outright failure in diagnosing a time-sensitive or serious disease.
• Failure to treat a disease correctly.
• Botched surgeries and incorrect doses of anesthesia.
• Failure to care for a pregnant woman and her baby properly, leading to birth injuries.
• Prescribing a drug that’s wrong for the patient’s medical condition, existing drug regimen or body chemistry.
• Unnecessary surgery (often Cesarean sections, hysterectomies or non-elective circumcisions).
• Not giving patients complete information (informed consent) that may change their minds about whether to undergo a procedure.

In addition to the emotional and quality-of-life injuries that medical malpractice can cause, it can often be very expensive for victims and their families. A severe personal injury can put a breadwinner out of work, require multiple surgeries, and even necessitate years of physical therapy. Permanent disabilities or disfigurement also affect the victim’s future, which is particularly appalling when the victim is a baby or young child. When medical professionals commit malpractice, the patients who trusted them end up dead, permanently disabled or living with a significantly reduced quality of life. Careless doctors can and should be held responsible for their actions in court. Victims may be able to recover money to cover past and future medical needs; lost jobs or missed work; compensation for a permanent disability or disfigurement; and other costs caused by medical negligence.

For additional information about medical malpractice, please see The Institute of Medicine; the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; the National Guideline Clearinghouse; and the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners.

Medical malpractice is a politically charged issue, which has led to an extremely complex set of state laws governing malpractice lawsuits. If you or someone you care about has been injured by the carelessness of a medical professional, you should speak with an experienced South Carolina medical malpractice attorney like the ones at the Louthian Law Firm as soon as possible. Our attorneys can help you evaluate your case; protect your legal right to the courts; stand by your side throughout the legal process; and get you the best possible results. For a free consultation, call the Columbia SC Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Louthian Law Firm today toll free at 888-662-0434 or locally at 803-454-1200. You can also fill out our confidential online case evaluation form.