Healthcare providers are required by law to meet certain standards of care with their patients. When they fail to uphold those standards, it can lead to negative health outcomes that can be devastating for patients. Connecticut medical malpractice laws exist to help protect patients and provide a means of recovering compensation to make up for damages caused by negligent doctors and other healthcare providers.
What’s Considered Medical Malpractice?
Not every negative health outcome is the result of medical malpractice. Sometimes, things go wrong despite doctors’ efforts. Malpractice occurs only when injuries are caused by a medical professional’s deviation from the recognized standard of care. This standard of care refers to the level of care that would be offered by a reasonably competent doctor with similar training and experience.
The Elements of a Medical Malpractice Claim
There are four main elements of a medical malpractice claim:
- Duty of care. If you have an established doctor-patient relationship, the provider owes you a duty of care. They must uphold the accepted standard of care for their field.
- Breach of standard. If a doctor or another healthcare provider fails to uphold the accepted standard of care, they are considered in breach of their duty.
- Causation. The breach must lead directly to the injuries you’ve suffered, which can’t be caused by other underlying factors like preexisting health conditions.
- Damages. You must suffer actual harm as a result of the injuries you sustained.
While many medical malpractice claims are filed against doctors, nurses, or other healthcare providers, they can also be found to be in breach of their duties.
Common Types of Medical Malpractice Claims
Medical malpractice takes many forms. However, some preventable errors come up more often than others. They include:
- Diagnostic errors. If a doctor misdiagnoses you or your diagnosis is delayed, and that causes you to experience a negative health outcome, you may have a medical malpractice claim on your hands.
- Surgical mistakes. Surgical errors often have immediate and catastrophic consequences. Many of them are considered never events, meaning they should never occur in a healthcare setting. The most common of the 125 recognized never events are surgery on the wrong body part, wrong surgical procedure, and retained objects following surgery. Around 19.4% of never events are fully preventable.
- Medication errors. When patients receive incorrect medications or improper doses, it can cause them serious harm. Doctors can also be considered to be in breach of the accepted standard of care if they fail to identify dangerous interactions with a patient’s other medications or prescribe medicines to which the patient has known allergies. Medication errors occur at a rate of 6.5 per 100 hospital admissions.
- Birth injuries. One study found that 31 birth injuries occur per every 1,000 live births. These injuries include fractures, hypoxic brain injuries, brachial plexus injuries, and cerebral palsy, all of which are preventable.
- Failure to treat. In some cases, physicians correctly diagnose patients’ conditions but fail to treat them properly. This often takes the form of failing to order appropriate tests, prematurely discharging patients from hospitals, and failing to provide necessary follow-up care.
If you’ve suffered harm as a result of one of these actions, you should speak with a lawyer about filing a medical malpractice claim.
Certificates of Good Faith in the Constitution State
Connecticut requires attorneys to conduct reasonable inquiries that include written opinions from qualified healthcare providers that show victims have reason to file medical malpractice claims prior to filing them. This certificate of good faith must be attached to your initial complaint.
Statute of Limitations
There is a two-year statute of limitations on medical malpractice claims. An exception may be made if the healthcare provider fraudulently concealed the malpractice, or if you were receiving continuous treatment for the same condition.
FAQs
What Is the Medical Malpractice Law in Connecticut?
There are several medical malpractice laws in Connecticut. They define everything from the statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases to the elements of a successful claim and defenses against allegations of malpractice that can be used by doctors. You’ll also find information about the use of expert witnesses, punitive damage awards, caps, and standards, and attorneys’ fees.
What Are Five Examples of Medical Negligence?
Five examples of medical negligence are misdiagnosis, in which the diagnosis offered by the physician is either delayed or incorrect; surgical errors, such as wrong-site surgeries and retained objects; medication mistakes, such as prescribing too much of a medication or the wrong medication entirely; birth errors, which can cause serious problems like cerebral palsy; and anesthesia errors, such as administering too much or too little anesthesia.
Is It Worth Filing a Claim Against a Doctor for Medical Malpractice?
It is worth filing a claim against a doctor for medical malpractice if you can prove all of the elements of a malpractice case. Doing so requires ample evidence. Your Connecticut medical malpractice attorney can help you collect the evidence required to prove that the doctor committed malpractice, which can include your medical record, witness statements, documentation of damages, and expert witness testimony.
What Are the Four Things That Must Be Proven for a Successful Medical Malpractice Claim?
The four things that must be proven for a successful medical malpractice claim are that the doctor in question had a doctor-patient relationship with the victim, that they failed to uphold the accepted standard of care, that their failure led directly to injuries, and that those injuries produced compensable damages.
Hire a Medical Malpractice Lawyer
If you think you might have a valid medical malpractice case on your hands, the first thing you should do is hire a medical malpractice lawyer. Your lawyer will know the Connecticut medical malpractice laws inside and out and can use that knowledge to obtain a positive outcome in your case.
Anyone looking for a skilled medical malpractice attorney can turn to the team here at Williams, Walsh & O’Connor, LLC. We have over 150 years of combined experience, and in the time we’ve been practicing personal injury law, we’ve handled countless medical malpractice cases. You can trust us to treat you with compassion and your case with the seriousness it deserves. Contact us to schedule an initial consultation today.
