One of the most understood cases in the legal industry is the difference between medical malpractice and personal injury. It is essential to understand the two if you are going to be filing a claim for either. Idaho personal injury lawyers could help you know the difference between the two, but so do you.
There are similarities and differences between medical malpractice and personal injury. It would lead to fewer problems if people knew the differences between medical malpractice and individual injury cases. Let us start with their definitions.
Definitions
A personal injury is a claim that involves filing a lawsuit against someone whose negligence or carelessness led to you sustaining injuries. There must be a direct relationship between your injuries and the fault of the guilty party.
On the other hand, medical malpractice is a case where the negligence or carelessness of a medical professional leads to you sustaining injuries or disease. The medical professional must ignore standards of care for there to be a medical malpractice case. The standard of care refers to how they would otherwise address a similar situation with a positive outcome.
Types of Claims
A medical malpractice case can be due to numerous adverse effects resulting from negligence by a healthcare professional. Medical malpractice may be due to a variety of medical care errors, including:
- Misdiagnoses
- Surgical errors
- Faulty Medical Equipment
- Prescription errors
- Lab report errors
The result of the above errors may be severed limbs, physical injuries, and brain damage, among other conditions.
Personal injury claims are of many types and include any accident that may incapacitate you. they include accidents like
- Slip and fall accidents
- Car and motorcycle accidents
- Use of a product leading to injury
- Attack from a pet
An accident has to leave you with temporary or permanent disabilities for it to be a personal injury claim.
Complexity
When it comes to the complexity of both cases, personal injury cases are more complicated than medical malpractice cases. The reason is that personal injury cases cover a broader scope, and hence there is much more involved and to consider. Medical malpractice cases are classified under personal injury cases.
Medical malpractice cases only concern illness or injuries directly related to medical and hospital care. However, they can get complicated due to the nuances of medicine.
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations is the time you have to file a claim before it is considered obsolete. There are different statutes of limitations for personal injury cases and medical malpractice cases, depending on the state.
For example, in Ohio, the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim is two years from its occurrence. The statute of limitations for a medical malpractice case is one year.
Disputed Issues
In a personal injury case, negligence has to be admitted or proven. Many guilty parties often acknowledge they were at fault in personal injury cases.
However, medical professionals rarely admit wrongdoing in medical malpractice cases. It takes much to prove medical malpractice.
There are many other differences between medical malpractice and personal injury cases, such as success rates, claim filing processes and the use of expert witnesses. Learn as much as you can and increase your chances of a successful claim.
