Medical malpractice cases can involve not just doctors, but nurses, physicians’ assistants and the like. Individuals injured as the result of medical malpractice should seek out legal advice from a medical malpractice attorney. Doing so will help to ensure that their rights are properly protected. Medical malpractice cases arise from the negligence of a medical professional in providing care. Typically, some overt act or omission occurs which does not meet the standard of care that is within accepted standards of practice.
In Colorado, there is a cap of $250,000 on non-economic (such as pain and suffering, inconvenience, emotional stress) lawsuit damages except in medical malpractice actions. However, in non-medical malpractice cases, you can recover unlimited compensatory damages. Under Colo. Rev. Stat. 13-64-302, the total amount of damages in a medical malpractice case against a hospital or physician cannot exceed $1,000,000 per individual. In some cases, punitive damages may be available to some plaintiffs.
There is a limited amount of time in which a medical malpractice action can be field in the Colorado courts (this is what is known as filing within the “statute of limitations”). Under Colo. Rev. Stat. 13-80-102.5, a medical malpractice action must be brought within two years after the date the injury and its cause were known or should have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence. This means that once a medical malpractice injury is discovered, a civil action must be filed with the courts within 2 years.
According to a report by ABCNews, certain medical specialties are far more likely to have medical malpractice cases brought against them. General surgeons and Ob/Gyns have a likelihood of being sued that is greater than five times that of pediatricians and psychiatrists. Other common types of malpractice cases include incorrect pharmaceutical prescriptions, misdiagnoses, botched cosmetic surgery, defective medical appliances, and anesthetic errors.
When dealing with statistics, we should all keep in mind one of Mark Twain’s favorite quotes: “Lies, damned lies and statistics.” Notwithstanding Mr. Twain’s feelings about statistics, the actual numbers regarding medical malpractice can be rather scary:
- 0.8% to 1% of hospital patients become victims of malpractice.
- 2.9% percent of victims of malpractice file claims.
- The ratio of injuries and deaths caused by malpractice in hospitals to that recorded in medical records is 4:1.
- Just 4.8% of physicians are responsible for half of the malpractice claims filed in the U.S.
There are ways for individuals to protect themselves against medical malpractice even before seeing a doctor. The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies actually provides a means for consumers to check on the status of disciplinary actions against various professionals, including physicians. By typing in the name of a provider at http://www.dora.state.co.us/CheckDiscipline.htm, consumers can see whether their doctor has had past disciplinary problems, which may have been due to a record of providing poor medical care.
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