The Difference Between Wrongful Death and Medical Malpractice

Understandably, when families go through the difficult steps of seeking compensation from a medical facility after a suspicious death, the question injury lawyers often have is if it was a wrongful death or medical malpractice. Understanding the difference is incredibly important in order for the legal process to run as smoothly as possible. The following includes a more detail explanation regarding the difference between these two issues.

Medical Malpractice

Understanding the difference between these two crimes is very important, and thus it is recommended first to separate the two. Let’s begin medical malpractice. Within a medical facility, any medical staff member such as a nurse, doctor pharmacists, and so on can commit medical malpractice if they fail to follow the appropriate procedures. Some examples of medical malpractice include leaving surgical tools within a person’s body, abuse, delayed treatment, and even failure to diagnose a patient. Medical malpractice isn’t limited to the examples above; in fact, any form of negligence could be considered medical malpractice.

Wrongful Death

The reason why so many tend to confuse one crime with another is that they both can be committed doing similar actions such as neglect, carelessness, wrongful act. However, wrongful death has a broader legal context. However, if one really wants to break this down into similar terms, then this is the best way to explain it. Medical malpractice is a crime, whereas wrongful death can be a direct result of medical malpractice. Because medical malpractice has very specific cases, a wrongful death suit may be looked into if needed.

What Damages Can Be Recovered

Medical malpractice usually involves seeking compensation for lost wages, medical expenses as well as punitive damages. Wrongful death monetary compensation may come in the form of funeral expenses, loss of income and pain, and suffering on the family’s side.