What’s the difference between medical battery and medical malpractice? Although they seem the same, they are entirely different situations. Generally, medical battery involves a physician or medical staff intentionally inflicting harm on a patient. In comparison, medical malpractice requires negligence (typically unintentional) on behalf of health care providers.
If you’ve suffered serious injuries resulting from battery in a medical setting, you may be eligible to seek maximum compensation. Contact The Trial Law Offices of Bradley I. Kramer, M.D., Esq. today for a free consultation with a proven lawyer for medical battery cases in California.
Continue reading to learn more about medical battery and what you can do about it.
What is The Definition of Medical Battery?
Medical battery can be defined as the intentional infliction of serious harm onto a patient in a medical setting. That means that a healthcare provider who is guilty of medical battery must have:
- Intended to commit the action that caused physical harm
- Their actions resulted in significant bodily injury
It’s important to note that a health care provider can be guilty of medical battery even if they did not intend to cause injury. The patient just has to prove the provider intended to commit the act that caused physical harm. For example, suppose a healthcare professional provides a treatment they did not receive a patient’s informed consent to do, resulting in injury. In that case, it may be considered medical battery.
Sound confusing? It is. That’s why it’s typically best to work with an experienced medical battery lawyer before pursuing legal action. Take a look at a few of the most common examples of medical battery in California in the section below.
What is An Example of Medical Battery?
According to the law, providing unwanted or unconsented medical treatment to a patient is essentially the same thing as criminal battery. Generally, medical battery is most likely to occur in the following situations:
- The medical provider lies to their patient about a treatment or procedure, or there are other fraudulent conditions involved regarding medical consent.
- The patient is incompetent and legally unable to consent, and the doctor provides inadequate care.
- A patient refuses medical attention, and the medical provider forces improper treatment onto them. This is most likely to occur in jails, prisons, mental health facilities, and nursing homes.
- The medical provider performs a procedure the patient never consented to (i.e., a patient agrees to surgery on their left lung, but the physician operates on their right lung).
- A physician performs a procedure they only received conditional consent for, but not informed consent.
- The healthcare professional performs a very different procedure than they received consent for (i.e., the patient only consented to a “tummy tuck,” but the physician performed gastric bypass surgery).
It’s essential to note that a physician can typically perform a necessary medical procedure without informed consent in emergencies.
Contact a Proven Medical Battery Lawyer Today
Proving medical battery requires your attorney to prove intent to perform acts that led to injury, the actual or proximate cause of injury, and harmful/offensive contact. Our lawyers are also medical professionals who know what to look for and how to hold medical providers accountable.
If you’ve suffered severe injuries resulting from a possible medical battery, you need an attorney you can trust to fight for you. Contact The Trial Law Offices of Bradley I. Kramer, M.D., Esq. today at 323-508-2994 for your free case evaluation.