If you have a loved one that has recently died and you believe it was cause by a doctor, a hospital, or medical staff of any kind, you may have a case of wrongful death. Although people die after or during medical treatments, including surgeries, sometimes it is due to negligence. The following are a few things you should understand about wrongful death as it relates to medical malpractice.
Wrongful death can be due to medical malpractice
Wrongful death is when someone has died because another person or persons were negligent in some way. There are many circumstances that can lead to the death of someone. Medical malpractice is when someone is injured due to negligence, but when medical malpractice leads to death, then it becomes wrongful death. In this way, wrongful death is a specific type of medical malpractice. Many attorneys who handle medical malpractice cases are often a good choice for a wrongful death case due to medical negligence since this is an extension of medical malpractice. However, keep in mind that what seems negligent may not be. For example, a misdiagnosis could simply be a standard conclusion from test results.
You need to have standing to bring the case
Just because the person that died was a loved one doesn't mean that you will be able to bring a lawsuit. You will need to be directly related to the person and demonstrate that because of this person's death, you will experience a hardship. There is a financial aspect to this hardship, such as what can happen to children without one of their parents or cases where a person's spouse has died. But there is also the element of anguish that is experienced when a loved one has died.
There are many forms of medical malpractice
There are many ways that wrongful death can occur in the healthcare field. This malpractice is not limited to the negligence of doctors, but it can extend to all the medical personnel at a hospital or doctor's office. It can be due to failure to follow standard procedure that contributes to a wrongful death. It can be due to the wrong medication or two medications that are administered but are contraindicated.
If you think your loved one has lost his or her life due to medical malpractice, you should not hesitate to hire a wrongful death attorney. Personal injury attorneys, including those that handle medical malpractice, work on a contingency fee. Simply put, you don't pay unless they win your case. Their fee will be taken from the amount of the settlement or the award from a court case that you have won. And because this type of lawyer works on a contingency fee, they will usually offer a free consultation.
