It’s a scary thing to almost die.
Here at Painter Law Firm, we speak with multiple people each week who’ve had this experience, either with themselves or a family member.
Under Texas law, though, almost dying or almost having a serious injury isn’t enough to justify a medical malpractice case.
Medical malpractice is a form of negligence.
Most people focus on the first element of negligence claims—the mistake. More precisely, negligence causes of action require a plaintiff to show that a person violated a duty owed to another person. In healthcare liability claims, this is generally discussed in terms of the standard of care.
The standard of care is what a reasonably prudent physician (or other healthcare provider) would’ve done under the same or similar circumstances.
It’s a medical mistake when a doctor or healthcare provider violates the standard of care. But that’s not the end of the analysis—there must be more in order to have a viable medical negligence/malpractice claim.
The breach of duty or standard of care must be linked to foreseeable injury. Lawyers refer to this as proximate cause.
In short, to be able to proceed with a medical malpractice claim, it’s not enough that a physician or healthcare provider made a mistake. It’s not enough that the medical mistake almost took the patient’s life or almost caused a devastating, disabling permanent injury. To meet the level of proof required to pursue a negligence claim, there must have been an actual injury.
If you’ve been seriously injured because of poor health care in Texas, then contact a top-rated experienced Texas medical malpractice lawyer about your potential case.
