What is medical negligence? First of all, we must know what lex artis is . This concept refers to the proper conduct of professionals associated with the medical and legal fields. Lex artis is the set of technical rules to which the conduct of a professional in the exercise of his or her art or trade must conform.
Therefore, medical negligence is an injury caused to a patient due to failure usa number list to act in accordance with the lex artis, that is, the medical staff did not act as they should have .
The most common cases of medical negligence are usually hospital infections due to poor hygiene or sterilization, negligence during childbirth that can affect both the mother and the baby, bacteria, falls in hospitals, etc. Errors in examination, diagnosis or treatment are also common.
We can talk about two types of responsibilities when a medical error occurs:
That which has its origin in the defective or omissive work of the medical professional, that is, medical liability .
That which causes damage attributable to the Hospital Center, that is, hospital liability .
Liability may be contractual or extra-contractual , depending on the link between the victim and the doctor or between the victim and the hospital.
Claims procedure
The injured patient must prove that his or her injury is due to the medical action, that is, the causal link must be clear and not create doubts.
A medical claim will be initiated at the health centre. It is important to request the patient's medical history to find out what type of procedures have been carried out. The role of the medical expert is also relevant. If the claim does not yield results, the next step is to go to court.
For this reason, it is very important to have a specialized lawyer, since these types of procedures are very complicated. The deadlines for filing a claim for medical errors vary , since they depend on the process to be initiated or the type of injury, as well as its consequences.
In cases of medical negligence in public health centers , as these are administrative procedures (patrimonial liability), the deadline to file a claim for negligence with a lawyer is one year .
In the event of death, the term begins to run from the date of death.
In cases of injuries or after-effects, the calculation begins when the after-effects become permanent.
Medical errors in private healthcare must be claimed in civil jurisdiction. The limitation period is 5 years in cases of contractual liability and 1 year in cases of non-contractual liability.