At Cuming & Gillespie LLP, one of Calgary’s premier personal injury and medical malpractice law firms, there are many ways we serve our clients. One of the most important functions we serve as experienced legal professionals is providing accurate information about relevant legal issues, not just for our clients but for Calgary at large. While we can’t provide legal advice or answer specific questions without discussing your unique and individual case, we can provide general information here on our blog that everyone in Calgary can use to better understand and protect their rights.

One area of concern to many in Calgary, and an area of the law that is frequently misunderstood, is medical malpractice. Chances are you see a medical professional at least a few times a year, and there’s also a high probability that you’ll be treated for a somewhat serious injury or disorder at some point in your life. Every stay in a hospital, every surgery, and every advanced diagnosis comes with some risk of medical malpractice, and though this risk is actually quite low it weighs on the minds of many Calgarians.

We’re here to provide some basic information and clear up a few misconceptions about medical malpractice laws here in Calgary. If you have any questions about your own circumstances and a potential medical malpractice case, please contact our office for a free consultation.

Calgary Medical Malpractice Cases Begin with Negligence

Like all personal injury cases, medical malpractice cases are based on the concept of negligence. When someone’s actions create a dangerous situation for someone else, and when they could have reasonably foreseen the danger they created, that person has acted negligently. This negligence is what leads to their liability—when their actions creates risks for others, they are responsible for the effects of those actions.

In everyday life, things like driving unsafely and failing to fix a hazardous condition in a business are considered negligence. Negligence in medical malpractice cases is frequently more complex and sometimes harder to establish, as Calgary medical professionals have a different duty of care to their patients. For the actions of a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare professional or organization to rise to the level of negligence, they must act in a way that is contrary to the best practices established for the medical community at large. Establishing negligence in a medical malpractice lawsuit means understanding the medical standards and clearly demonstrating how a medical professional or institution’s behavior deviated from those standards.

Without this negligence, there is no medical malpractice in the eyes of Calgary law. It’s the first necessary ingredient in any malpractice case. In Part 2 of this article, we’ll look at the second necessary ingredient: damages, which in a medical malpractice case means serious injuries or other harm.

Contact a Calgary Malpractice Lawyer With Your Questions Today

If you believe that you or a family member was caused serious injury due to a medical professional’s negligence, don’t put off getting the help and the answers you need. For a free consultation with one of Calgary’s most dedicated medical malpractice lawyers, please contact our office today.