All medical providers and professionals are bound not only by ethical duties, but also by legal obligations concerning the care they provide to patients. In situations where the care administered to a patient does not conform with the legal standard of care, providers can be held financially accountable.
Negligence occurs in well-known medical environments like hospitals, but can also happen in less obvious settings as well. Unfortunately, psychiatric malpractice is one such instance. If you believe that you or a loved one has been affected by psychiatric malpractice, it may be time to speak with an attorney. A Stamford psychiatric malpractice lawyer can help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
When psychiatric malpractice occurs, the consequences that can ensue may be wide-ranging and include steep psychological damage as well as serious or even life-threatening physical injuries. One of the most insidious aspects of psychiatric malpractice is that the injuries that manifest from this negligence may not be as immediately obvious as more commonly discussed forms of medical malpractice, such as a surgical mistake. Nonetheless, when a psychiatrist’s behavior does not live up to their duty of care, patients can be left grappling with long-term or even permanent harm.
Common examples of situations that could indicate mental health malpractice include improper handling of patient information, failure to diagnose a psychological condition, failure to properly treat a psychological condition, and medication errors such as prescribing the wrong medication. Instances of premature discharge from a mental health facility or prescribed course of care, inadequate supervision of a patient, the improper or needless use of restraints, sexual misconduct, or abuse of the doctor-patient relationship are other common scenarios that can arise from psychiatric malpractice. The attorneys at Berkowitz Hanna have experience handling many kinds of psychiatric malpractice in Stamford and across the state.
A Stamford attorney can help victims of psychiatric malpractice seek multiple forms of compensation in a lawsuit or legal claim. Victims of this form of medical negligence may be entitled to compensation for their economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages include tangible costs like medical bills and lost wages. Non-economic damages refer to intangible losses such as emotional anguish, pain, suffering, and loss of life’s pleasures.
To establish that psychiatric malpractice occurred, the injured party and their attorney must prove that several key events occurred. If even one of these elements is missing, the claim may not stand up either at the negotiating table or in the courtroom.
First, an attorney will aim to prove that an existing doctor-patient relationship was in place, thereby establishing an overarching duty of care owed by the doctor. A lawyer will then work to establish that the psychiatrist or healthcare provider did not adhere to this duty of care, either by acting in a certain way or failing to act in a certain way.
From here, an attorney will show that the psychiatrist’s transgression of their legal duty of care was the actual and direct cause of the injuries the patient sustained. Finally, a lawyer must establish that the patient’s injuries led to compensable losses.
It is highly advisable to retain a skilled Stamford psychiatric malpractice attorney from the outset of a case. Not only is psychiatric malpractice a complex type of case to prove, but it is important to work with an attorney that has a broad-ranging background in these matters. The team at Berkowitz Hanna can handle all aspects of a mental health malpractice case, from obtaining evidence, to speaking with medical experts, to building a thorough case for compensation, to negotiating or litigating the claim.
Psychiatric malpractice can look very different from other forms of medical malpractice. Achieving the burden of proof for mental health malpractice and providing clear and compelling evidence of such negligence is no easy task.
A Stamford psychiatric malpractice lawyer will spare no effort to make sure that your case gets the attention it deserves and pursue all recoverable compensation. Hiring quality legal representation is an important first step for any malpractice case. If you would like to talk with an attorney about your potential case, contact us at Berkowitz Hanna today.
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