Orangeburg, SC Medical Malpractice Attorney

During many healthcare procedures, it is often necessary for a doctor to perform cuts or poke patients with needles. Nonetheless, the first rule of medical care is to do no harm. When this rule is violated and doctors make mistakes or cause additional harm with negligent medical care, victims could face tragic healthcare outcomes.

If you suffered injuries from bad medical care or if a doctor misdiagnosed your condition and allowed it to get worse, you might be able to claim compensation. In a medical malpractice claim, you and your family can seek to have your additional medical bills paid along with damages for your pain and suffering.

For a free case review, call Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers today at (803) 451-4000.

What Constitutes Medical Malpractice in Orangeburg, SC?

Medical malpractice is often hard to identify without medical and legal experience. For this reason, it is imperative to seek a second opinion from another doctor and to speak with our medical malpractice attorneys if you suspect that you suffered negligent medical care. Even so, the following definitions can help you understand the difference between medical care with a bad outcome and actual malpractice.

Definition of Medical Malpractice

Technically, the civil claim you file when making a malpractice claim is a negligence lawsuit. In the context of bad medical care, negligence is defined as a doctor’s failure to provide care that follows the “standard of care.” The care must also result in actual harm, or else there is no negligence.

The “standard of care” depends heavily on the circumstances of the case and is different in every situation; it is not a standard you can look up in a medical textbook. For example, the standard of care for treating a middle-aged male presenting with chest pain might be to test him for a potential heart attack, but the same might not be true for a 10-year-old patient with similar symptoms.

It is often up to other medical professionals in the same field of medicine to define what the standard of care is in your case and whether your doctor violated that standard. As such, we will typically call those medical experts as witnesses to help define what exactly counts as malpractice in your case.

Bad Outcomes Versus Medical Malpractice

Often, a medical malpractice case comes down to identifying the difference between cases with bad outcomes or complications compared to actual medical malpractice. In many cases, bad outcomes occur simply because healthcare is complex, and we might not have the science or technology to fix everything. This can sometimes lead to complications even when the doctor did everything right.

Medical malpractice only occurs in cases where the doctor did something wrong. If there were any mistakes, errors, or deviations from the standard of care, the case might qualify as malpractice. However, it is often hard to tell without examining the facts of your case and having medical experts review your records.

Even in cases where a complication or condition appears to happen by chance, the resulting harm might still be linked back to a doctor’s mistake. For example, it is not your doctor’s fault if you get cancer. Still, it can be a doctor’s fault if that cancer goes undiagnosed and untreated, allowing it to get worse when it would have been discovered and treated much sooner by a reasonably competent physician.

Examples of Medical Malpractice You Can Sue for in Orangeburg, SC

There is a wide range of different types of medical malpractice claims. Many patients suffer adverse effects that fall into one of these categories, and our attorneys can help with any of these types of medical malpractice cases. We can also help with instances of medical malpractice not on this list.

Misdiagnosis

Misdiagnosis is when the doctor fails to accurately determine what condition or illness you have and instead treats you for the wrong condition. This means that you do not get the care you need, but it might also mean getting care you do not need. Suppose a doctor unreasonably skipped diagnostic tests or failed to pursue a course of treatment that they should have pursued. In that case, you might be entitled to sue for the negative outcomes of not treating the underlying condition. You can also sue for any adverse effects of the unnecessary treatment for the condition you do not have.

Failure to Diagnose

When a doctor fails to discover what is ailing you but does not affirmatively diagnose you with a different condition, you can seek compensation for failure to diagnose. Again, it must have been unreasonable for the doctor to miss the condition in order for your claim to succeed.

Surgical Errors

Surgical errors are perhaps the most obvious form of medical malpractice. Cutting too deep, nicking an artery, or severing a nerve can all have incredibly serious outcomes for a patient, and they often allow the victim to sue for damages.

In some cases, some mistakes and errors can occur even with reasonable physicians doing their best. These issues are sometimes referred to as “complications,” and you should consult with another doctor and with our attorneys to determine whether the mistake in your case was an acceptable error or unacceptable malpractice.

Medication Errors

Medication errors often come in the form of a doctor prescribing the wrong medication or dose, a pharmacy or hospital filling the prescription incorrectly, or a doctor or nurse administering the wrong medication or dose. Claims can also be filed against a medication manufacturer for errors and mistakes in that process, but those claims are not technically “malpractice” claims. In any case, justice is available for these kinds of issues.

Anesthesia Errors

When an anesthesiologist, nurse anesthetist, or other anesthesia professional makes mistakes, you can suffer multiple adverse effects. Patients that suffer anesthesia errors can often feel the procedure, and sometimes they might be awake and unable to alert someone to their condition because of the paralytics they were given. In other cases, doses are too strong, and patients suffer adverse effects in the aftermath of the procedure or even pass away.

Call Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Orangeburg, SC Today

If you or a loved one suffered the effects of medical malpractice, call the medical malpractice attorneys at Burriss Ridgeway Injury Lawyers at (803) 451-4000 for a free case evaluation.

$6 Million

The Plaintiff was injured as a result of a failing component of a commercial motor vehicle that fell from the vehicle into the roadway. The Plaintiff brought claims against the owner and operator of the tractor trailer as well as the manufacturer of the vehicle.

$4.1 Million

The Plaintiff was insured as a result of a refrigeration system that malfunctioned, spraying ammonia gas into the Plaintiff's face. As a result of this event, the Plaintiff sustained significant vision loss. The Plaintiff brought claims against his employer and the manufacturer of this system.

$2 Million

The Plaintiff was injured while riding his motorcycle when he collided with another vehicle. This event occurred in the city of Columbia and the Plaintiff sustained significant bodily injury resulting in extensive medical expenses and permanent injury.

$1.8 Million

The Plaintiff was injured when he was rear-ended by a tractor trailer on Interstate 20. The Plaintiff brought claims against the owner and driver of the tractor trailer for his injuries relate to his lower back.

$1.5 Million

The Plaintiff sustained significant injury when she was attacked by a dog while performing repairs on a rental property. The Plaintiff was at the rental property as part of her employment with a rental management agency. She was attacked by the animal and sustained permanent nerve damage in her legs.

$1.3 Million

The Plaintiff was killed as a result of a collision with a logging truck that had been improperly loaded by a timber harvester. The proceeds of the settlement were funded by both the timber harvester and the owner of the logging truck.

$1.5 Million

The Plaintiff underwent surgery to her neck as a result of injuries sustained when she was struck on the head by a piece of loading equipment at her job. The Plaintiff was employed by a national retailer and was engaged in stocking shelves when the piece of equipment failed. After settling her workers' compensation claim, the Plaintiff brought a claim against the manufacturer of this equipment.

$1.1 Million

The Plaintiff brought a claim against a local medical facility for a false positive HIV reading. As a result of this false positive, the Plaintiff lived for 4½ years believing that she had the virus which leads to what she feared was an eventual AIDS diagnosis.