If a physician, dentist, or other health care professional fails to meet the standard of care in the performance of his or her duties resulting in patient harm, the patient or his or her family may be entitled to compensation through a medical/dental malpractice suit. In such an event you should speak with a skilled attorney regarding the possibility of a claim.

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In every malpractice case, certain criteria must be met before you have an actionable case. These include:

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• The existence of a care relationship. The initial step in establishing malpractice is showing that a doctor-patient relationship existed at the time the patient injury occurred. Only physicians or medical professionals actively engaged in the diagnosis or treatment of a patient may be liable for medical malpractice.

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• Medical/Dental negligence is provable. A poor experience does not give enough grounds on its own to justify a malpractice claim. For a claim to be established, it must be proven that the patient was harmed because of treatment that did not meet the standard of care. Therefore, if the care given was not within the standard of care, a malpractice suit may be possible. Generally, a medical standard of care must be established by an industry professional, and the plaintiff and his or her attorney must show how the doctor deviated from this standard.

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• Injury resulting from medical negligence. Those engaged in malpractice suits are often ill when visiting the doctor, so it must be established that actions on the part of the physician, and not his or her condition, caused the harm.  This is often established by consulting with another physician to determine whether lack of proper medical/dental care caused the injury in question causal factor in the injury.

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• Damages resulted from the injury. Even if all of the previous criteria are met, it must be established that the patient suffered actual damages and harm as the result of the health care provider’s failure to meet the standard of care. This can often take the form of lost wages, loss of earning capacity, physical pain and suffering, disfigurement, impairment, emotional or mental pain, and resultant past and future medical costs.

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• Numerous situations where a patient suffers injury due to medical/dental errors or oversight can warrant a malpractice claim, but many of these fall under just a few categories. The most common malpractice types are: