Phoenix medical malpractice claims

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by: robert549
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Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2012 Time: 11:15 AM

Most doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals perform their jobs admirably and quite capably. However, patients often entrust health care professionals with their very lives, so even a simple careless mistake may result in substantial injury to the patient. If you or a loved one has been injured though the willful or negligent conduct of a health care professional, you should consider consulting with Phoenix Medical Malpractice Attorneys.

What is medical malpractice?

Negligence refers to when someone breaches the duty of care owed to another, and that breach causes harm. Normally, this duty of care is simply defined by the level of care that a reasonable person would owe under similar circumstances. For example, while driving, a reasonable person would not run a red light. However, health care professionals, owing to their qualifications and special knowledge, owe a heightened duty of care to their patients.

A breach of this heightened duty of care may happen under any number of circumstances. When a doctor fails to make the right diagnosis, that may or may not be a breach depending on how they came to their conclusion. But when a doctor causes injury to a baby during child birth or fails to follow the rules of a medical procedure, that is typically a breach of the duty of care.

After breach has been shown, it must next be determined if that breach was the cause of the harm suffered by the patient. Normally, this is referred to as the "but for" cause. That is, but for the doctor's actions, the patient would not have suffered harm. Additionally, it must usually be shown that the harm suffered by the patient was a reasonable and foreseeable consequence of the doctor's actions. A health care professional cannot usually be liable for harm that was not foreseeable.

Filing a medical malpractice claim

Arizona law concerning medical malpractice is deeply complicated. Those filing a claim need to follow certain rules and procedures, and many of these rules may seem utterly alien to those not well-versed in them. Moreover, these rules are often written in a language all their own that may seem confusing and even intimidating to those not accustomed to them. To make matters somewhat more difficult, failing to following these rules and procedures could result in a dismissal of one's claim. For instance, specific statutes of limitations apply to medical malpractice claims. Failing to file the claim within the time period defined by the statutes of limitations will cause a court to bar the claim.

Phoenix medical malpractice lawyers, though, can work with you to file a medical malpractice claim. Moreover, an experienced and knowledgeable Phoenix medical malpractice attorney can assist with determining whether such a claim is possible in the first place and with assessing the possible levels of liability of the health care professional in question. In the past, many Phoenix residents have benefited from the assistance of a Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer in successfully navigating the judicial system and in procuring the monetary compensation that they deserve.