Medical malpractice is a serious problem across the United States, stemming from a physicians negligence or carelessness in regard to treating a patient. In the event that a patient dies due to medical malpractice, the family of the victim has the right to pursue a medical malpractice claim, as well as a wrongful death lawsuit. If you or a loved one has suffered from medical malpractice in South Carolina, you should contact a Columbia personal injury attorney at Sanders & Nettles immediately.
There are many different types of medical malpractice, which include:
- Surgical error - a situation in which a surgeon, surgical resident, anesthesiologist, or nursing staff causes an error that results in a serious injury.
- Birth injury - a serious injury that occurs to the mother or infant during pregnancy, child birth, or directly following child birth as the result of a doctor's negligence.
- Cerebral Palsy - a permanent disability occurring to a newborn if he or she has an infection, lack of oxygen, or suffers brain damage during pregnancy or child birth.
- Cancer misdiagnosis - a situation in which a patient is not properly diagnosed with cancer or their cancer diagnosis was not done in a timely fashion, due to a doctor's negligence.
Victims of medical malpractice may experience very serious health problems which have the ability to negatively affect all aspects of their lives. Some of these injuries include:
- Amputation
- Birth injury
- Blindness
- Brain damage
- Disfigurement
- Infection
- Long term disability
- Paraplegia
- Short term disability
- Shorter life expectancy
If you were the victim of medical malpractice in the State of South Carolina, you have three years from the date of the injury, or the date of the discovery of the malpractice in which you may file a complaint against the negligent health care provider.