Most patients are nervous when they enter a hospital, trusting their doctor to give them the best treatment possible. They don’t question what their nurses do or know what is normal in the healthcare process.
This is why most people don’t know that they’re the victims of medical malpractice until the damage is done. They trusted their doctor, and that trust was betrayed.
Medical malpractice occurs when a medical provider (like a doctor or nurse) causes harm to a patient because of their negligence.
You can be a victim of medical malpractice in any level of treatment, from a missed diagnosis to something that occurs during your recovery. Other examples of medical malpractice include:
However, just because an injury or accident happened during treatment doesn’t mean that it’s an example of medical malpractice. Medical treatment is always dangerous, and even when your doctor takes every precaution, there are still risks involved.
In New Jersey, the law is clear about what qualifies as medical malpractice. To successfully resolve a claim, you have to show that the person treating you failed to follow the standard of care and that their negligence caused significant harm.
Every medical profession has a set of best practices professionals are expected to follow during treatment. These aren’t a set of laws, but standards developed by medical professionals looking for the safest, best way to treat their patients. Every medical professional is expected to follow the standard of care. If they don’t, and their patient is injured, it could be a sign of medical malpractice.
For a medical malpractice claim in New Jersey to be successful, your claim has to show a violation of the standard of care, show that your injuries were caused by that violation and that the injuries you received caused substantial damages.
According to a federal study, one out of every twenty-five patients will contract a hospital-associated infection (HAI). When hospitals follow the standard of care, the infection should be rare. Instead, every year, thousands of people die from these preventable infections.
When a hospital fails to follow the standard of care, you risk developing a staph infection or sepsis, two potentially fatal conditions. The standard of care for a hospital might involve a nurse checking on a patient every few hours to make sure an infection isn’t forming. However, if a patient is left unchecked for several hours, a violation of the standard of care, the infection can spread and even become life-threatening.
Not every HAI infection is a sign of medical malpractice, but they are among some of the more common claims we deal with at our Marlton office.
Even hospitals with high-quality reputations can mistreat patients and leave them reeling after experiencing medical malpractice. Below are a few South Jersey hospitals that we have filed claims against because of medical malpractice because our clients suffered in the wake of their negligence.
Cooper Hospital is located in Camden and is a teaching hospital that is staffed by both licensed physicians and medical students. Not only does Cooper help students and residents grow their experience and learn, but it also has a trauma center to respond to major accidents and crises in the area. It also has a pediatric and neonatal ICU.
As of 2018, Cooper has more than 7,300 employees, including 620 physicians. This includes 30,000 annual admissions to its 635 licensed beds and almost 80,000 emergency room visits each year. On top of that, there are almost 1.3 million outpatient visits to Cooper each year.
While Cooper does its best to offer patient care, a few people are going to slip through the cracks each year. The sheer volume of patients needing treatment from the physicians and staff shows how easily mistakes could be made. If you have a Cooper malpractice claim, you are not alone.
In 1855, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) opened with just 12 beds and a dispensary, serving 67 patients that year. Today, CHOP has 546 beds and serves more than 1 million inpatients and outpatients each year. CHOP is one of the top children’s hospitals in the country, boasting top-rankings in pediatric medicine, surgery, and intensive care. However, just because a hospital has a strong reputation and standards doesn’t mean that physicians don’t make mistakes.
Working with a CHOP malpractice claim is particularly delicate because of the strong emotions that come with pediatric care. We often work with parents who are shocked by the treatment of their children and who want answers as to why their doctor acted the way they did. We work closely with parents during this difficult time as they try to recover from the malpractice their children experienced.
The Virtua Health System is one of New Jersey’s largest health systems with more than 500 physicians and other clinicians working at its various locations. You can find Virtua health centers in Marlton, Camden, Vorhees, and various other parts of New Jersey. It employees more than 1,000 employees who help with various pediatric and adult treatments.
Knowing which arm of the Virtua system and which medical professional to file a claim against can make your medical malpractice case move faster. When working with an extensive health system, you need experienced attorneys who know how to navigate their processes.
If you were a victim of medical malpractice anywhere in South Jersey, a medical malpractice claim could help you get your life back on track. Our Marlton personal injury lawyers helped thousands of clients in Marlton and the surrounding communities resolve their claims.
Console and Associates, P.C.
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Marlton, NJ 08053
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