New York Malpractice & Injury Lawyer Blog
Sometimes patients and their families will have questions as to whether or not the standard of care that they have received from a doctor, hospital or other medical facility was according to the standard of care or if the incident constitutes medical malpractice.
One such example was written in to an advice column by a woman to a consulting attorney asking after the care her son received after a motorcycle accident.
According to the letter, her son had been in a motorcycle accident and suffered a severe case of road rash that ended with him having a hole in his arm. The motorcyclist was given pain pills and keep the wound uncovered and to scrub it daily. He was not, however given any antibiotics to address the potential of infection.
Two days later, the motorcyclist was back in the emergency room and had to have surgery because of the wound that was now infected.
The chance of infection after an accident of road rash, which can be very severe in some cases, is high. Because roadways have soil, sand, asphalt, gravel and other debris, all of these can potentially have bacteria and other toxic matter that can cause infection in an open wound. The standard of care would seem that the motorcyclist should have been given an antibiotic to help reduce the chance of infection. In all likelihood, because the antibiotic was not prescribed, the infection resulted in the need for further hospitalization and surgery for the motorcyclist.
While it is possible that such a situation constitutes medical malpractice, because the man did not lose a limb or his life nor did he suffer permanent disability, the cost of filing and arguing the lawsuit might not constitute enough of a return that a malpractice attorney would take the case. It is inconvenient and unfortunate, but not usually the kind of case that is likely to go to court.
The truth is that medical malpractice that is actionable is statistically infrequent. In terms of medical care, a bad outcome is most likely not the result of medical malpractice. It takes an evaluation of an experienced malpractice lawyer to determine whether you and your family may have a medical negligence claim for damages, lost wages, medical expenses and other claims that affect the quality of life. Experienced malpractice lawyers can determine whether or not the plaintiff can prevail if and when a claim goes to trial.
At Bottar Law, we have years of experience as a top rated medical malpractice law firm in the State of New York. If you suspect that you or a loved one has been injured as the result of an incident of medical malpractice, contact us today for a free initial consultation and legal analysis.
We can answer all of your malpractice questions and concerns and help you determine if you have a case. Contact us by telephone at (315) 313-6809, (888) 979-1689, or by email at info@bottarlaw.com.