Medical Malpractice in New Jersey: Understanding the Standard of Care

What defines a profession? For many, the difference between a profession and simply a job is the amount of training and ongoing professional development needed to maintain a certain quality of service and production. Physicians, as one of the oldest professions in history, have long sworn to provide the best care possible for their patients. It is this same powerful responsibility, however, that makes cases of medical malpractice so particularly jarring to victims when they occur.

From the days of the Hippocratic Oath, today’s physicians abide by a more general doctrine known to medical malpractice attorneys as the “standard of care.” When doctors commit errors that lead to the personal injury of patients, New Jersey law outlines the procedures and conditions under which victims can take legal action.

Medical malpractice cases carry different levels of complexity when compared to other personal injury cases such as auto accidents or slips and falls. This is why working with an experienced and trusted local medical malpractice attorney is of the utmost importance for victims.

While consultation and communication with these legal professionals is always going to be the best course of action, there are some general points of knowledge regarding the standard of care that all New Jersey residents should be aware of. Therefore, this article aims to provide some general information regarding medical malpractice and the standard of care for New Jersey residents.

Defining the Medical Standard of Care

When a medical malpractice case goes to trial, the courts will need to compare the accused acts of negligence against some type of baseline. The medical standard of care represents the nature of care that can be expected of a competent and responsible practitioner.  In other words, if a competent practitioner was performing the same procedure of intervention on the patient, could the complications and incurred injuries have been prevented?

If the answer to this question appears to be “no,” then it is time to contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney. These professionals will help you gather the necessary evidence and documents to show that the damages you experienced were due to malpractice instead of chance.

Framing the Standard of Care in Court

In court, the medical standard of care will be discussed within the bounds of an affidavit of merit. New Jersey law requires this affidavit in order to fully establish a malpractice case. This document, written by a healthcare professional in the same field as the defendant, is designed to provide evidence that the acts in question were indeed malpractice, and that a similarly trained and licensed professional would not be likely to make the same kind of error.

New Jersey Malpractice Experts

Going up against physicians and the healthcare industry can be incredibly daunting, especially for victims who have recently suffered the trauma of a trusted provider’s negligence. For years, the attorneys at Ferrara & Gable have been working with New Jersey residents to fight for the compensation they deserve. Contact Ferrara & Gable today to explore your options and get the confidence you need to fight for the compensation you deserve.