Medical Malpractice Terms and Definitions

Palliative Care The total care of patients with progressive, incurable illness. In palliative care, the focus of care is on quality of life. Control of pain and other physical symptoms, and psychological, social and spiritual problems is considered most important. Medications Malpractice This category covers claims arising from inaccurate medication prescriptions, such as wrong medication or dosage level. 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 Practice Act A statute of a US state or jurisdiction that outlines the scope of practice for physicians and the responsibility of the medical board to regulate that practice. The primary responsibility and obligation of a state medical board is to protect the public through proper licensing and regulation of physicians and, in some jurisdictions, other health care professionals. Proximate Cause Proximate cause is defined legally as a cause which, in a natural and continuous sequence, unbroken by any intervening event, produces injury, and without which, the injury would not have occurred. Spinal cord abscess Spinal cord abscess is a disorder characterized by inflammation and a collection of infected material (pus) around the spinal cord. Comparative negligence The doctrine of comparing degrees of fault among the responsible parties. Brain death Irreversible cessation of cerebral and brain stem function; characterized by absence of: electrical activity in the brain, blood flow to the brain, and brain function as determined by clinical assessment of responses. 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. Statute of limitations A statute specifying the period of time after the occurrence of an injury--or, in some cases, after the discovery of the injury or of its cause--during which any suit must be filed.

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

	Did You Know?
	Errors in hospital Emergency Rooms are a common occurrence They are infrequently talked about and rarely reported to the media. That is why you don't hear about these types of cases on the news. Understaffed hospitals or ill-equipped emergency rooms may lead to fatal errors while dealing with patients requiring emergency treatment. When the necessary steps of treating an emergency room patient are sidestepped, then an emergency error may result.