Millions of car accidents occur across the United States every year. These crashes account for the largest percentage of preventable injuries suffered in the country. Victims of auto accidents put their trust in physicians and nurses in emergency rooms to take care of their medical needs. However, many car accident injuries are just worsened or compounded by negligent medical care. A car accident lawyer can help you recover compensation for your damages.
Types of Medical Malpractice Suffered After An Auto Accident
Several kinds of medical malpractice can occur after an auto accident. Here are a few examples:
- Failure to properly treat injuries from the car crashes
- Medication errors
- Medical mistakes made by the paramedics
- Emergency room medical malpractice
- Failure to diagnose medical illness or injuries
- Failure to perform the needed medical procedures and surgeries
Defining Medical Malpractice
According to California state law, medical malpractice occurs when a medical doctor or medical facility fails to provide a patient in an emergency room (or any other area of a hospital or medical facility) with the appropriate level of care as defined by the standard of care provided by other doctors and medical facilities within that specific specialty. For example, if a radiologist does not perform a test that radiologists should perform following a similar accident and is complaining of pain in a specific area, then medical malpractice could be established.
Who Can Be Held Liable For Medical Negligence After A Car Accident?
Under the common law doctrine of the “eggshell plaintiff” rule and the California jury instructions regarding “approximate and foreseeable causation,” which as an example would be the at-fault driver in a car crash, a driver who caused a car accident could be held liable for all of the superseding negligence of others within the chain of events following the accident. So, the defendant, who is at-fault for the injuries caused by the automobile crash, may also liable for any medical malpractice that occurs when those injuries are being treated.
Other parties could also be held to blame for medical negligence while the injuries are being treated after a car crash. Those who could be held partially liable include hospitals and clinics, emergency room staff, ER physicians, and manufacturers of defective medical products.
Being Compensated For Your Injuries
If you have been in an auto accident and suffered an additional injury as a result of medical malpractice while being treated for your injuries, know that you have the right to seek monetary compensation for your damages. You can file a claim against all the liable parties for your damages. Some of the damages you may include are past and future medical expenses, past and future loss of earnings, pain, suffering, cost of rehabilitation and medical procedures, long-term care, and mental anguish.
If you have suffered medical malpractice after a car accident, you should enlist the help of a Los Angeles car accident lawyer. Contact the Trial Law Offices of Bradley I. Kramer, M.D., Esq. for a free case evaluation.