Ohio residents who believe they were harmed through the negligence of a doctor, nurse or other medical personnel should know that proving this is perhaps the hardest step in medical malpractice claims. It is one thing to prove that the defendant failed to live up to an accepted standard of medical care, but it is another to link this with the injury.
For example, a surgical procedure might come with known side effects that arise even if the surgeon commits no errors. If a surgeon commits an error and the patient develops complications, the burden will be on the patient to show how one led to the other.
Some injuries will naturally have a hard time healing properly, such as fractures. Only if there was a definite case of doctor negligence, such as failure to align the bone properly or failure to consider surgery when it would seem to have been appropriate, can victims hope to have a successful claim.
In another example, the effects of a delayed cancer diagnosis, including the worsening of the condition and death, may be hard to link with negligence. Cancer is known for its high mortality rate and the way it requires extensive treatment. The delay must be definitely connected with a worsening of the prognosis and treatment.
This is where the assistance of Columbus, Ohio, medical malpractice injury lawyers may prove to be beneficial. Such lawyers may have access to a network of professionals, including investigators, to build up the case. Lawyers may even request an inquiry with the local medical board. Victims may leave it to their lawyer to negotiate for a fair settlement covering medical expenses, both past and future, in addition to lost wages, pain and suffering, and other economic and non-economic damages.