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Proving neglect in Wisconsin medical malpractice cases

Many people in Wisconsin have a built-in respect for medical care providers. In fact, most doctors and other healthcare providers are well-trained professionals. Unfortunately, even the slightest miscalculation or oversight can have serious consequences. A person who has been a victim of such medical malpractice has the option of seeking legal recourse in a civil court.

In order for a medical malpractice lawsuit to be successful, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant failed to meet the accepted standard of care. Additionally they must prove that that failure resulted in some sort of injury to the patient. In order to prove negligence, a plaintiff must prove several things.

First, it must be established that the healthcare provider owed some sort of duty to the patient. The plaintiff must also document the accepted standard of care and how the defendant failed to meet that standard, in addition to the injury that breach caused. To do this, a medical expert — with medical knowledge of the issues at hand — must testify explaining, among other things, how the defendant’s actions deviated from the accepted standard of care and the injury that deviation caused.

Healthcare providers have extremely important jobs. They are highly educated in their field and many simply want what is best for their patients. However, that doesn’t change the fact that a mistake made can have serious, sometimes fatal, consequences. For those in Wisconsin who have been a victim of medical malpractice, there is help available. If negligence can be proven, a person could be awarded damages to cover medical costs as well as pain and suffering, among others.

Source: Findlaw, “Proving Fault in Medical Malpractice Cases“, Oct. 18, 2014

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