A person undergoing medical care has the right to reasonably assume that physicians, clinicians, nurses and other health care workers will conduct themselves in a manner that upholds the highest levels of protection for patient safety. When medical error results in injury or illness to a Hawaii patient, he or she has the right to file a medical malpractice claim against those deemed at-fault under the circumstances. Laws pertaining to malpractice issues vary from state to state.
When medical professionals deviate from accepted standards of medical care, that negligent conduct can become the basis of a lawsuit when a patient has been harmed in the process. Regulations pertaining to filing a malpractice claim, as well as rules that apply to potential compensation for various damages differ among the jurisdictions. Hawaiian medical patients who believe that they have suffered injury or illness due to negligence on the part of medical staff will want to become aware of applicable state guidelines before pursuing legal action against another party.
In one study, it was estimated that as many as 98,000 patients die in the United States each year due to professional medical errors. Typically, when a malpractice case is litigated, an expert medical witness is brought in to court to establish the fact that a patient was indeed injured during the process of his or her medical care. Expert witnesses might also testify concerning their opinion that specified negligent actions on the part of medical professionals were connected in some way to the injury or illness suffered by the patient.
The amount of compensation a person can receive in a successfully litigated medical malpractice case in Hawaii is directly related to the severity of damages suffered by the patient. It would most likely be beneficial for anyone considering filing a malpractice claim to first seek the advice of a legal professional who has experience in similar cases. Doing so would enable the attorney to offer a case assessment and provide suggestions and ongoing support when taking one’s case to court.
Source: lawyersandsettlements.com, “Medical Malpractice“, Accessed on July 8, 2015