Medical Malpractice Terms and Definitions

Delirium A disturbance of the brain function that causes confusion and changes in alertness, attention, thinking and reasoning, memory, emotions, sleeping patterns and coordination. Miscarriage When circumstances cause the mother's body to react to a problem in the pregnancy. This may cause bleeding, cramping, and will ultimately cause the loss of the pregnancy. Economic damages Funds to compensate a plaintiff for the monetary costs of an injury, such as medical bills or loss of income. Collateral source rule Under this rule, compensation awarded to an injured party shall not be reduced by the amount of compensation available to him from his insurance company or other independent sources. Arbitration panels Many states have formed arbitration panels in order to resolve disputes between doctors and their patients. Negligence Failure to exercise that degree of care that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances. When that failure causes another person to suffer an injury or financial loss, that person may be entitled to just compensation through our civil justice system. Assumption of risk In the law of negligence, as a defense, a defendant's allegation that the injured plaintiff recognized the danger of the plaintiff's course of action but, nonetheless, willingly chose to risk such danger. Punitive damages Damages awarded in addition to compensatory (economic and noneconomic) damages to punish a defendant for willful and wanton conduct. Joint-and-several liability Liability in which each liable party is individually responsible for the entire obligation. Under joint-and-several liability, a plaintiff may choose to seek full damages from all, some, or any one of the parties alleged to have committed the injury. Achondroplasia Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder of bone growth that is evident at birth. It affects about one in every 25,000 births and it occurs in all races and in both sexes. Its depiction in ancient Egyptian art makes it one of the oldest recorded birth defects.

Please contact us if anyone you know has suffered from debilitating injuries due to medical malpractice in Indiana.

	Did You Know?
	Cosmetic surgery malpractice is a common occurrence Negligence happens when ill-equipped medical practitioners, like doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, and other healthcare professionals carry out such relatively simple cosmetic procedures like botox injections and forehead lifts. Negligence of this kind is criminal. It can happen to anyone.