Within the practice of personal injury law there are two terms that are often used interchangeably; malpractice and negligence. There is a difference in them though, malpractice is negligence or improper action by a professional and negligence refers to the failure to provide services or actions that are deemed proper in law. In either case, both negligence and malpractice often result in injury and as such require the intervention of medical malpractice attorneys in Iowa City IA.
One of the glaring differences between the two; malpractice and negligence is the type of individual who is responsible for the action or injury, or lack of it that resulted in injury. Professionals, such as doctors are usually accused of malpractice. Guilt is usually determined when the action of the accused professional is compared to the action that would have been taken by others in the same field. Basically, if the actions taken by the accused caused harm to an individual, and the actions taken went against the norm or normal course of action, medical malpractice attorneys in Iowa City IA could argue that the individual is guilty.
An example of malpractice would be if a surgeon was to perform a procedure on an individual and the procedure was not necessary, and it was neither agreed upon by the patient nor was permission given for the procedure. In a case like this, the surgeon could be charged with medical malpractice. Permission from the patient or an immediate member of the family who assumes responsibility is required for all non-emergency care and as the surgeon’s actions went against what other surgeons would have done in the same position, medical malpractice action could be considered. Doctors can also be found guilty of malpractice if they prescribe the wrong medicine or the patient suffers a negative reaction to the medicine.
Negligence on the other hand is in reference to an injury suffered as a result of another person or entity neglecting to do something. In the case of malpractice, the issue is action, in the case of negligence, the issue is inaction. A person is guilty of negligence if he failed to do something that any other reasonable person would have done in similar circumstances. This can go anywhere from an employer failing to adequately guard a piece of machinery to a local government failing to repair a broken sidewalk which caused a person to trip, fall and be injured.
Medical malpractice attorneys in Iowa City IA will often sue for both medical malpractice and negligence at the same time. This is common when the health care provider neglects to provide the care the patient needs. The doctor who did not provide the care can be found guilty of both offenses.
