What is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice is when a healthcare professional or facility fails to provide the standard of care expected in their field, resulting in harm to a patient. This can involve mistakes in diagnosis, treatment, or aftercare that are not what a reasonable professional would do in similar circumstances. Medical malpractice can include surgical errors, misdiagnoses, medication mistakes, and birth injuries.

It’s important to note that a simple mistake on the part of any medical professional does not constitute a medical malpractice case; you must be able to show that the medical professional or facility did not meet the accepted standards of care. If you can prove this, you may be able to seek compensation.

If you have suffered a negative medical outcome or have been harmed after visiting any medical professional, contact medical malpractice lawyers in Colorado to find out if you have a case. In many such situations, it’s hard to tell whether you have a claim, so you will want a lawyer’s assessment.

Types of Medical Malpractice in Colorado

Medical malpractice can take many forms, causing a range of harms. There are many types of medical practice that can take place in clinics, doctor’s offices, hospitals, and other facilities. The most common types include:

• Surgical errors, such as performing the wrong procedure, leaving surgical instruments inside a patient, or operating on the wrong body part.
• Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose a condition correctly or in a timely way
• Medication mistakes, such as prescribing the wrong medication, giving incorrect dosages, or failing to account for drug interactions.
• Birth injuries that can lead to conditions such as cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injury, or Erb’s palsy.
• Anesthesia errors, where a patient is given too much or too little anesthesia, or is not monitored during a procedure.
• Failure to inform patients about the potential risks and benefits of a procedure or treatment.
• Failure to monitor patients properly.
• Requesting the incorrect tests.
• Failure to follow up on test results.
• Lab test errors that result in the wrong diagnosis.
• Failure to provide adequate follow-up care.

Each of these examples represents a form of medical malpractice that can seriously impact a patient’s health. A delay in getting a cancer diagnosis, for example, can mean patients start receiving treatment late, which can impact their prognosis. Anesthesia and surgical errors can cause fatalities as well.

Common causes of Medical Malpractice in Colorado

Understanding the common causes of medical malpractice can help patients recognize when negligence may have played a role in their harm. Some of the most frequent causes of medical malpractice cases include:

• Poor communication. This may involve miscommunication about a patient’s condition, medication changes, or test results. A common situation happens when doctors fail to listen carefully to a patient’s description of symptoms, which can lead to miscommunication. Inadequate handoff between medical professionals can also lead to critical details being overlooked, increasing the risk of mistakes.
• Protocol issues. Healthcare professionals often work long hours, which can lead to burnout. Exhausted professionals can also make mistakes in diagnosing, administering treatment, or monitoring patients.
• Protocol issues. Healthcare facilities should have established guidelines to ensure safe care. For example, there may be rules in place about cleaning diagnostic equipment, or checklists in place for surgical procedures. Failure to have such guidelines or to adhere to these protocols can result in malpractice.
• Insufficient training. If a healthcare provider is not experienced in a particular area, they may make mistakes that cause harm, such as misinterpreting diagnostic tests or performing an operation incorrectly.
• Inadequate supervision. Medical residents, interns, or less experienced practitioners often perform tasks under the supervision of senior physicians. When proper supervision is lacking, it can result in preventable mistakes.
• Medical equipment failures. Malfunctioning imaging machines, surgical tools, or life-support equipment can cause harm to patients, as can poor maintenance of medical equipment.

No matter what caused medical malpractice in your case, if you did not receive an acceptable standard of care, you may have a legal claim and may have the right to seek financial recovery.

How to Prove Medical Malpractice

In most cases, you will need to work with medical malpractice lawyers in Colorado to prove medical malpractice. This is because medical professionals will not typically admit fault and will in fact have legal departments and insurance companies protecting them. In addition, you may not be granted access to the records you need to prove malpractice.

Your attorney, on the other hand, can use legal processes to secure medical records, diagnostic images, lab results, prescription records, hospital notes, witness testimony, and other evidence.

Your attorney also has a network of experts to rely on. Experts in the relevant field will review the case and provide an opinion on whether the actions taken were consistent with what a competent professional would have done. Their testimony can make or break the case.

Who Can Be Held Liable for Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice can involve a variety of healthcare professionals and institutions, and multiple parties may share responsibility. The following entities can be held liable:

• Doctors, including specialists and surgeons.
• Nurses and nurse practitioners who have prescriptive authority.
• Hospitals, clinics, urgent care centers, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, doctor’s offices, and other healthcare facilities.
• Medical technicians, such as radiologists, laboratory technicians, and other diagnostic professionals.
• Medical device manufacturers.
• Physical therapists, mental health providers, dentists, occupational therapists, dietitians, and other medical professionals.
• Pharmaceutical companies.

A thorough investigation will determine who can be held liable, allowing you to pursue the compensation you deserve. Some of the parties in your case may be entities you didn’t have direct contact with and may not even have considered as responsible for your injuries.

What Damages Can I Recover for Medical Malpractice?

In Colorado, you may be able to recover both economic damages as part of a medical malpractice case. Economic damages refer to measurable financial losses caused by the malpractice. These can include:

• The costs of past and future medical care required to treat the injuries caused by malpractice.
• Compensation for the income you have lost during recovery, as well as any future lost earning capacity.
• Other direct financial losses, such as the cost of assistive devices, home modifications for disabilities, or additional transportation expenses related to your injury.

You also have the right to pursue non-economic damages, which offer compensation for the intangible, emotional toll that medical negligence may have on your life. Non-economic damages include compensation for:

• Pain and suffering.
• Loss of enjoyment of life, if your injuries limit your ability to engage in activities you once enjoyed.
• Emotional distress.
• Loss of consortium, which are damages for the loss of companionship, affection, or sexual intimacy you may face as a result of your injury.

In rare circumstances, punitive damages may be awarded in cases of gross negligence. They can also be awarded in cases of intentional harm. These damages are not intended to compensate you for specific losses but to punish the defendant.

In cases where medical malpractice results in a patient’s death, the surviving family members may be entitled to recover damages for their loss through a wrongful death claim. This claim can help families seek recovery for funeral expenses, loss of financial support, loss of companionship, and emotional suffering.

How Long Do You Have to Sue for Medical Malpractice in Colorado?

For most medical malpractice cases in Colorado, the statute of limitations is two years from the date you discover or should have discovered the injury caused by the malpractice. For example, if you undergo surgery and experience complications, but the problem isn’t recognized until a few months later, the two-year period starts from the time the injury is discovered, not necessarily when the surgery took place.

There are exceptions to the statute of limitations. For example, if the injury is a birth injury or affects a child, you may have more time to file a claim. There may also be additional exceptions that give you more time to file, such as if a medical professional tried to hide wrongdoing.

Two years can seem like a long time, but waiting for any period of time can hurt your case. For one thing, medical professionals and their representatives may try to get you to sign paperwork to absolve them of responsibility. In addition, evidence can go missing. It’s always important to take steps to protect your rights, as soon as you realize you may have a claim. The first step is as simple as consulting with medical malpractice lawyers in Colorado. They can help you protect your right to compensation.