Medical Malpractice Information Center

Gaithersburg Medical Malpractice Attorneys

At Alman & Alman, LLC, Attorneys at Law, our lawyers feel a moral obligation to help patients recover both medically and financially from medical malpractice. For them, our firm philosophy of "winning with dignity" means doing more than restoring their health. Our personal injury and medical malpractice lawyer helps our clients recover financially from medical malpractice cases involving pyschiatric malpractice, surgical errors, anesthesia errors, failure to prevent infection, dropping and leaving surgical instruments inside patients, performing surgery without consent, late or misdiagnosis of a disease, birth injuries, and even wrongful death.

Medical malpractice attorney Elliott A. Alman assists clients in cases against psychiatrists who have violated the trust of their patients or infringed upon the doctor-patient relationship in an unprofessional or negligent manner.

Contact us for aggressive and compassionate representation in your medical malpractice case.

Alman & Alman, LLC, Attorneys at Law

183 Mill Green Avenue, Suite 100
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
301-330-0010 (phone)
301-869-4877 (fax)

Based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Alman & Alman, LLC, Attorneys at Law serves clients in Aspen Hill, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Clarksburg, Damascus, Darnestown,  Frederick, Germantown, Glenmont, Kentlands, Lakelands, Montgomery Village, North Potomac, Poolesville, Potomac, Rockville, Silver Spring, Wheaton, Urbana, Montgomery County, Frederick County, and Prince George’s County.

Medical malpractice occurs when a negligent act or omission by a doctor or other medical professional results in damage or harm to a patient. Negligence by a medical professional could include an error in a diagnosis, treatment or illness management. If such negligence results in injury to a patient, a case could arise against the doctor if his or her actions deviated from generally accepted standards of practice; against the hospital for improper care, such as problems with medications, sanitation or nursing care; or against local, state or federal agencies that operate hospital facilities.

Medical malpractice laws are designed to protect patients' rights to pursue compensation if they are injured as the result of negligence. However, malpractice suits are often complex and costly to win. While theoretically, you can seek compensation for any injury caused by negligence, regardless of its seriousness, time and money make it unrealistic to sue for an injury that is minor or heals quickly. Therefore, if you believe you have a medical malpractice claim, it is important to consult with an attorney who can help you determine whether your claim is worth pursuing.

Theories of Liability in Malpractice Cases

Negligence. Most medical malpractice cases proceed under the theory that a medical professional was negligent in treating the patient. To establish medical negligence, an injured patient, the plaintiff, must prove:

• The existence of a duty owed by the health care professional to the plaintiff (for example, a doctor/patient relationship)
• The applicable standard of care, and the health care professional's deviation from that standard, which is deemed a breach of the duty owed to the patient
• A causal connection between the health care professional's deviation from the standard of care and the patient's injury
• Injury or harm to the patient

One of the most important aspects of a medical malpractice action is establishing the standard of care to be applied to the health care professional. To find a medical professional legally at fault, it must be shown that his or her conduct fell below a generally accepted standard of medical care. To establish the standard to be applied, the plaintiff must present expert testimony not only as to the standard of care applicable, but that also establishes that the defendant failed to meet the standard. In cases where the defendant's violation of a standard of medical care is so apparent as to be comprehensible to the average person, expert testimony may not be required.

Another element of medical malpractice actions, causation, is sometimes difficult to establish. Specifically, the plaintiff must show that his or her health care provider's deviation from the applicable standard of care resulted in his or her injury. This is challenging because sometimes there may be other factors that contributed to the plaintiff's eventual injury.

Informed Consent

In many situations, the failure to obtain a patient's "informed consent" relative to a procedure or treatment is a form of medical negligence, and may even give rise to a cause of action for battery. Although the specific definition of informed consent may vary from state to state, it means essentially that a physician (or other medical provider) must inform the patient all of the potential benefits, risks and alternatives involved in any surgical procedure, medical procedure or other course of treatment, and must obtain the patient's consent to proceed.

Breach of Contract or Warranty

Although doctors very rarely promise specific results from procedures or treatments, in some cases they do, and the failure to produce the promised results may give rise to an action for breach of contract or breach of warranty. For example, a plastic surgeon may promise a patient a certain result, which result may be judged more easily than other types of medical results, simply by viewing the patient. Similarly, if a patient is not satisfied with the outcome of a procedure and the physician had guaranteed or warranted a certain result, the patient may attempt to recover under a theory of breach of warranty.

Legislation Affecting Malpractice Actions

Due to the power and resources of the health care industry, many states have passed legislation making it more difficult to bring and prevail in medical malpractice actions. In most states today, physicians and hospitals are protected by legal limits called "caps" on the amount of damages and attorneys fees that can be awarded in malpractice suits. In addition, barring extraordinary circumstances that affect the case, state laws provide set periods, called statutes of limitations, within which a plaintiff must file a malpractice action in court.

Certificate of Merit

One obstacle plaintiffs in many states may have to overcome before they can even file a malpractice action against a health care professional is the requirement that they file what is commonly known as a "certificate of merit." In order to file a certificate of merit, a plaintiff will first have to have an expert, usually another physician, review the relevant medical records and certify that the plaintiff's health care provider deviated from accepted medical practices, which resulted in injury to the plaintiff. The plaintiff's attorney then files the certificate of merit, which confirms that the attorney has consulted with a medical expert and that the plaintiff's action has merit.

Potential Defendants

Medical malpractice can be committed by several types of health care professionals, including doctors, surgeons, nurses, technicians and other hospital workers. In a case where a hospital employee commits malpractice, the hospital itself may be held liable under the legal doctrine of "respondeat superior." Under this theory, an employer may be held liable for the negligent acts of its employee if the employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment when the negligent act or omission occurred. This doctrine is important to plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases, because it helps ensure there will be a financially responsible party to compensate an injured plaintiff.

Conclusion

In general, there are no guarantees of medical results. An unanticipated or unsuccessful result from medical treatment or surgery does not, in itself, mean that medical malpractice has been committed. Nonetheless, if you believe you may have been the victim of medical malpractice, you should meet with an experienced attorney as soon as possible to discuss the facts of your case and receive a professional evaluation of your situation.

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DISCLAIMER: This site and any information contained herein are intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Seek competent legal counsel for advice on any legal matter.

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At some hospitals, 18-36% of patients may suffer harm from a medical mistake that causes injury or death.

Medical Malpractice Resource Links

Division of Quality Assurance
US Department of Health and Human Services. Links to National Practitioner Data Bank and the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank.

National Patient Safety Foundation
This Web site Features information about patient safety.

US Agency for Health Care Research & Quality
Provides information and links about patient safety, tips for patients and other general health information.

Joint Commission for International Patient Safety
The Joint Commission promotes and provides for the delivery of safe, high-quality care through its standards, event database, programs and its National Patient Safety Goals.

American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys
The American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys (ABPLA) is accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) to certify attorneys in the areas of medical malpractice, legal malpractice and accounting malpractice.