ok medical negligence
The Basics of Medical Malpractice for Oklahomans
Oklahoma doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals and facilities have a duty to provide the utmost standard in care for their patients. This is unfortunately not always the case. Approximately 225,000 people die nationwide as the result of medical malpractice. But what is medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice is generally defined as professional negligence or wrongdoing by act or omission by a healthcare provider that causes injury or death to the patient. The various types of Oklahoma medical malpractice include, but are not limited to: misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, delayed diagnosis, surgical error, anesthetic error, medication error, incorrect treatment, continuing ineffective treatment, failure to attend to a patient, substandard treatment, and lack of informed consent. If a doctor is employed by a hospital, the hospital will likely be held liable for that doctor’s malpractice.
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Oklahoma Woman Severely Burned by Medical Negligence Speaks Out Against New Tort Reform
A new bill is being considered in Oklahoma that would place a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages for personal injury cases. However, one Oklahoma woman is speaking out against the reform since she sustained severe burn injuries from the waist up due to medical negligence, in 2009 according to OKWatchdog.com. The retired eighth grade teacher, who had endured cancer and chemotherapy, underwent reconstructive surgery, during which a cauterizing tool ignited alcohol that had been used to disinfect the woman.
According to the woman, the cap would only further hurt those who had already suffered so much due to medical negligence in Oklahoma. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) reports that approximately 100 medical fires occur each year, and result in at least 20 injuries and about two deaths. Because these types of injuries can be so severe and often require lifetime care, a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages would cover only a small fraction of the suffering that some of these patients have been forced to suffer.