Medical Malpractice Terms and Definitions

Arbitration panels Many states have formed arbitration panels in order to resolve disputes between doctors and their patients. Trigeminal Neuralgia A disorder of the trigeminal nerve that causes brief attacks of severe pain in the lips, cheeks, gums, or chin on one side of the face. Duty of Care Once a doctor or health care professional agrees to diagnose or treat a patient, he or she has assumed a duty of care toward that patient. 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. Informed Consent Is the process by which fully informed patients can participate in choices about Their healthcare. It originates from the legal and ethical right the patient has to direct what happens to her body and from the ethical duty of the physician to involve the patient in her health care. Medical negligence Failure of a physician or other medical personnel to meet the standards of conduct for duties relating to the medical profession. Those standards are based on what a reasonable person with the requisite knowledge and skills would or would not do. 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. Acute Pain Pain that has a known cause and occurs for a limited time. Acute pain usually responds to treatment with analgesic medications and treatment of the cause of the pain. 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. Board-certified specialist A physician who has successfully completed an ACGME-approved residency program or its equivalent in an American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)-recognized specialty and has been certified by an ABMS member board

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

	Did You Know?
	Many people don’t know what expenses are typically included in a settlement A typical medical malpractice claim will include compensation for pain and suffering, payment of medical expenses for treating the injury caused by the malpractice and reimbursement for any past, present or future financial losses that you have incurred as a result of the malpractice. However, this varies by State.