What is the Difference Between Negligence and Malpractice?
Understanding the difference between medical negligence and malpractice can help you make informed decisions about what personal injury claims you want to file. But between treating your injury, making adjustments to your lifestyle, and coping with the emotional distress that personal injury often entails, most victims of negligence or malpractice don’t have the time (or the patience) to sift through a bunch of legalese regarding malpractice vs. negligence.
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Medical Malpractice
Medical Malpractice Attorney in Houston
As a patient, you have rights, and the Houston medical malpractice lawyers at Mithoff Law are here to help you defend them. Few things are as important or deeply personal as our health. So when we entrust our lives or those of our loved ones to the hands of medical professionals, we do so with full expectations that they will perform their duties carefully.
Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. According to a recent John Hopkins study, more than 250,000 people die from medical malpractice each year, making it the third-leading cause of death nationwide. Additionally, survivors of medical malpractice can be left with debilitating, lifelong injuries that drastically impact your quality of life.
Get the experienced representation you and your family deserve. Call Mithoff Law today at 713-654-1122.
“Mithoff, a Houston personal injury lawyer, is no stranger to winning big payoffs for large groups of people. He negotiated a $2.3 billion settlement with the tobacco industry for Harris and other counties, and he won $80 million for residents of a nursing home who were killed in a 2005 bus explosion while fleeing Hurricane Rita.”
– Houston Chronicle, November 22, 2017
Mithoff Law’s medical malpractice success stories
Mithoff Law has helped victims of medical malpractice and their families recover damages in complex cases, the results of which have even changed standard medical procedures.
- Fighting post-operation negligence: Mithoff Law won $1.14 million for the family of a deceased patient who died due to inadequate post-op care while she was supposed to be recovering in the hospital. In this case, our investigation and expert witnesses helped bring troubling issues to light, altering the way patients are cared for after operations.
- Taking Dow Chemical to task for toxic breast implants: Mithoff Law also represents those injured by the manufacturers of defective medical devices. After leaking breast implants caused his clients significant health problems, Richard Mithoff set new precedents with the first successful verdict against manufacturer Dow Corning.
- Billion dollar settlements: When thousands of people were given faulty artificial hips, Mithoff Law took the manufacturer to task, helping to negotiate a billion dollar settlement on behalf of all affected patients, and forcing the recall of 40,000 dangerous artificial hips.
What qualifies as medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, hospital, or other medical professional acts negligently or carelessly, causing injury to a patient. In order to be considered medical malpractice, negligence must occur during the medical process as a part of diagnosis or treatment.
Types of medical malpractice
In addition to basic medical negligence, malpractice can occur in a number of forms. The following are the six most commonly reported types of medical malpractice:
- Surgical errors: Mistakes made during surgery can have devastating, even fatal consequences for patients, from spinal and neurological injuries to undue pain as the result of poor anesthesia. Patients may still have the right to seek damages for surgical errors, even after signing a consent form.
- Birth injuries: Inadequate prenatal care or negligence during birth can lead to severe, even fatal consequences for newborns and their mothers.
- Misdiagnosis: A misdiagnosis of a disease or condition can result in harm to the patient, if the misdiagnosis worsens the patient’s outcome.
- Delayed diagnosis: A delayed diagnosis can occur because of many factors, including inadequate screening. These delays may allow a harmful disease to worsen.
- Failure to treat: Even with a correct diagnosis, sometimes doctors fail to deliver the correct and adequate treatment owed to their patients.
- Medical product liability: When medical products are defective, a treatment issue can begin long before a patient falls ill and visits their doctor. Faulty surgical equipment — including medical products such as meshes, pacemakers, and filters — can injure or even kill patients. In these cases, you may be able to sue the manufacturer for damages as well as the practitioner, depending upon the circumstances.
“Since he started practicing in 1974, his cases have helped produce reforms in hospital credentialing of physicians and reporting of physician misconduct; prompted medical manufacturers to pull defective products off the market; led hospitals to improve their use of post-surgical intravenous solutions; and triggered a manufacturer’s recall of defective tires.”
– Super Lawyers, September 15, 2021
Contact a trial-ready Houston medical malpractice lawyer at Mithoff Law
Mithoff Law has represented many clients for medical malpractice and has attorneys and subject matter experts that are well-versed in the legal and medical knowledge necessary to pursue such claims.
We have pursued all manner of medical malpractice claims, including claims involving medical specialties as diverse as bariatric surgery, pediatric care, oncology, anesthesiology, and nursing care. The claims we have pursued often involve death or serious injuries, such as quadriplegia, paraplegia, or brain injury. We employ a registered nurse to assist in the review and preparation of claims.
Our team is experienced in navigating the substantial medico-legal hurdles imposed in Texas as a result of tort reform and is prepared to review any potential medical malpractice claim. Let us fight for you.
Call the medical malpractice lawyers at Mithoff Law at 713-654-1122.
