Eyes are the delicate and most sensitive organs of our body and the world becomes dark without it. Vision loss is not only a physical damage but also an emotional damage. This is because it disengages you with the rest of the world and may also give way to financial damages. For instance, you can lose your job. If an ophthalmologist is responsible for compromising with your vision, you can be entitled to monetary compensation by filing a malpractice lawsuit. This can be done with the help of an expert ophthalmology witness. The malpractice attorney cannot work without these expert witnesses. This is because malpractice claims are highly convoluted and requires a simplified exaggeration by these witnesses.
Understanding Ophthalmology malpractices:
Before understanding ophthalmology malpractices, one needs to know that there are various specialties in this field.
- Glaucoma specialists
- Pediatric Ophthalmology specialists
- Cornea specialties
- Neuro-ophthalmology specialists
- Ophthalmic plastic surgery experts
- Ophthalmic pathology specialists
Ophthalmology malpractices take place when the conduct of the surgeon causes eye injury or vision loss of the patient. Ophthalmology malpractices can take place in one of the following ways:
- Failure to explain the surgical procedure in details and the potential risks and benefits of the surgery
- Failure to obtain consent from the patient prior to surgery
- Misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis
- Failure to diagnose condition causing eye-sight problems or vision loss.
- Reusing tools and equipment that is meant for one-time use only. This creates higher chances of infection
- Failing to stay updated with the latest availability of tools and technologies
- Failing to refer the patient to an expert if it outside their scope of work.
- Recommending wrong medications or wrong dosages
- Making surgical errors (These errors can happen during the pr-operative, during and post-operative period).
Elements to prove your malpractice claims:
To get your deserving compensation, an ophthalmology expert witness will have to prove certain technicalities or complex elements of a case which are as follows:
- Duty– It means that the patient is under the duty of the surgeon.
- Violation of Duty– This is to establish that that surgeon defendant to provide medically apposite care. Doctors are required to provide a standard level of care to the patients. There can be a malpractice claim if the level of care provided by an ophthalmologist goes against this accepted standard level.
- Damages– In this, it needs to be established that the plaintiff has suffered vision loss or other eye injuries because of misconduct of the defendant.
- Causation– An ophthalmologist expert witness will have to prove that there is a direct relationship between the cause and the effect.
Of all the aforementioned elements, one of the difficult things to prove is the relationship between the cause and effect. Hence, these expert witnesses are called upon to provide expert case reviews and testimony for making the case strong. Without evaluating the severity of the damage and the errors, it’s not a good idea to file a lawsuit.
