As in all other walks of life, there are good medical providers and those who are not up to standard. And sometimes even good doctors make mistakes that should not have been made and those mistakes result in serious injury and sometimes death to innocent patients. These injuries can ruin lives and place tremendous burdens on the injured person and oftentimes the family as well. Mistakes can occur during surgery or other procedures. They can involve failing to diagnose or treat a condition, dispensing the wrong medication or in administering the wrong dosage, failing to properly supervise staff or monitor the patient, failing to fully inform the patient of the risks of the treatment, among many other areas.

Our system of justice provides a remedy of compensation to the victims of negligence, whether that negligence is committed by a doctor, nurse or someone else. That is the purpose of medical malpractice insurance in the case of medical errors. Insurance companies and doctors are among the wealthiest in our society and doctors in particular command tremendous respect. With that respect comes tremendous responsibility and accountability. Patients expect and have a right to receive treatment that meets the standard of care. Medical malpractice or medical negligence means that the standard has not been met. Doctors recognize they can make mistakes, like anyone else, and that their mistakes can be extremely costly for their patients. Medical providers insure themselves for this very reason.

Of course, not every bad outcome following treatment is the result of medical malpractice. If the explanation of a bad outcome that has significantly diminished the patient's condition is unsatisfactory, then there may well be cause to inquire further. If you are in this situation, we invite you to contact attorney Judith Ann Pavey, a medical malpractice lawyer who represents patients and their families.

Ms. Pavey has handled medical malpractice cases involving death, permanent brain damage, permanent disability and disfigurement from birth injuries, failure to diagnose and delay in diagnosis of cancer, renal failure, brain aneurysm, cardiac conditions, etc., surgical and radiological procedure errors, post-surgical errors, medication mistakes, equipment malfunction, inadequate training of technicians/staff, and anesthesia errors, among others.