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Medical Professionals Should Never Cause Harm To Those Who Seek Treatment

When you or a loved one receives medical treatment, you expect medical professionals like doctors, surgeons, nurses, medical assistants, pharmacists and others will do everything correctly and thoroughly with expert knowledge to ensure the best treatment possible.

However, if a medical professional makes an error by doing something they should not have done or failing to do something in the treatment that they should have done and that results in damages, you may be entitled to compensation. At Gellner Law Offices in Wheeling, West Virginia, we help those who experience medical malpractice get the legal assistance they need.

A Medical Malpractice Claim Involves More Than An Injury

It is important to realize, however, that a mistake on the medical professional’s part does not automatically mean you have a valid malpractice claim. There are four main requirements that must be met:

  • Duty owed. You must establish that the individual owes you safe, injury-free medical treatment, also called duty of care. A doctor, nurse or pharmacist you encounter at a hospital or pharmacy has a duty of care.
  • Breach of duty. This is where the idea of negligence comes in. The medical professional makes an error in his or her treatment of you, or deliberately chooses inappropriate treatment.
  • Harm or damage results. The most essential element of these claims is the resulting damage that occurs. Even if a professional makes a mistake, if it does not result in damage of some kind, you do not have a claim. Damage can include undue harm or a result that was not intended or expected and not a normal complication of a procedure, including pain, loss of earning capacity, medical expenses, loss of companionship and more.
  • Proximate cause. You need to draw a clear connection between the actions of the professional and the resulting damage for the claim to be valid. For example, if the harm or injury to the patient would have occurred no matter what, there is a lack of proximate cause.

While these four elements seem simple enough on the surface, medical malpractice is in fact one of the most complex practice areas. Your lawyer needs to be meticulous and thorough, and your case needs to be airtight to prove nurse, pharmacist or doctor negligence and the resulting damage.

Our office has the experience and knowledge to help you get the justice you deserve. We have handled medical malpractice cases all the way through trial and appeals, but the majority of these cases can be settled with the right lawyer on your side.

Learn More From An Experienced Attorney

We can help you determine if there is a medical malpractice claim for you to pursue. We will handle it from start to finish, from collecting evidence and building your case to presenting it at trial if necessary. Our firm’s extensive experience and success in this practice area means your case has the best chance of justice and compensation.

Contact us by calling 304-242-2900. You can also send an email.