Can I Sue for Medical Malpractice in Arizona?
Yes! In Arizona medical malpractice is a subset of personal injury law. Medical malpractice is when a medical professional is derelict in their duty and an injury or death occurs. No matter if the injury was caused by the doctor, surgeon, nurse, technician, or hospital administrator – you might be eligible to receive compensation for your suffering.
Common Types of Medical Malpractice
- Diagnostic Mistakes – A doctor does not perform the necessary tests and either gives an improper diagnosis or no diagnosis at all. This can lead to treatable illnesses becoming too large, or someone becoming sick from the wrong treatments.
- Defective medical devices – when medical devices are manufactured improperly they can lead to treatments being harmful when delivered. While sometimes these may be categorized as defective products it may also be medical malpractice.
- Surgical malpractice – From operating in non-sterile conditions to performing surgery on the wrong part of the body, surgical malpractice can have major consequences. Some include longer healing time, but others may lead to death.
There are many types of medical malpractice, and they can range from incidents that can be quickly identified to some that take several years to uncover. Because of this, Arizona’s statute of limitations on personal injury cases starts when you find out about the injury as opposed to when the incident happened.
What You Need to Prove Medical Malpractice in Arizona
You need four elements to prove medical malpractice in Arizona. The person pursuing damages has the burden of proof. That means it is up to you to prove the four elements of medical malpractice.
1) The medical professional owed the patient a duty of care.
A duty of care is relatively straightforward, the relationship between the medical professional and the injured party is made in two ways after the patient decides to seek care. One: the medical professional chooses to treat the patient. Two: an entity (like a hospital) assigns a medical professional to the patient.
2) The medical professional neglected the duty of care.
When you seek medical attention you expect a certain level of expertise and care. When that expectation is not met it can be disappointing and even dangerous. However, not all poor medical experiences are medical malpractice.
In Arizona, there is only a neglect of duty if the medical provider made a mistake that a similar doctor wouldn’t have. A similar doctor is another with the same level of experience, skill, training, and certification. Meaning being misdiagnosed by a doctor fresh from medical school might not be malpractice but the same misdiagnosis from a doctor with more experience, or one within a specialty, would be.
3) The negligence was the factual cause and the proximate cause of the patient’s injuries.
Two types of cause must be established in a malpractice lawsuit.
Factual cause means the medical practitioner’s physical acts helped cause the harmful result. Meaning if the practitioner acted another way, the patient would not have been harmed. This does not just need to be a big action, like operating on the wrong leg. Some small actions, like not giving referrals, can also be considered malpractice.
Proximate cause is the proof that the actions of the medical practitioner had a foreseeable consequence. For example: A doctor misinterprets blood work which leads to a late diagnosis of cancer which makes the prognosis grim.
4) The patient suffered damages.
Lastly, for medical malpractice to be put through the courts, there needs to be calculable damages. Damages in personal injury lawsuits can be medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
If You Suspect Malpractice Contact a Lawyer
Medical malpractice is a complicated subset of personal injury lawsuits. These lawsuits require a large collection of evidence before they can be brought to court. This is why hiring a personal injury lawyer for your medical malpractice suit is the best decision for your case.
Van Norman Law Firm has your best interest in mind when they work on your case. With over 25 years of experience in personal injury, we are able to help you build a strong case. Contact us today for a consultation on your case.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (9/10/24). Photo by Kristine Wook on Unsplash.