Did you go blind due to medical malpractice?
Your eyes are your window to the world. They give you information about your environment, helping to keep you safe. Losing your vision is life-changing. It affects your ability to work and support yourself and your family. It affects your ability to perform all of the activities of daily life. It may mean giving up your favorite leisure activities. It could affect your relationships with family and friends. It can lead to a loss of independence and mobility.
Some forms of vision loss are the result of a traumatic accident or condition such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, or complications from diabetes. Unfortunately, there are people who go blind due to medical malpractice as a result of negligence or carelessness on the part of their eye doctor or ophthalmologist when providing eye care or treatment for some type of condition.
When this happens, you may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other expenses through a medical malpractice claim.
The most common problems
The most common problems that result in a patient going blind due to malpractice include:
- Delayed diagnosis
- Failure to diagnose
- Surgical errors
- Medication errors
- Not providing the patient with a referral to a specialist
- Failure to obtain informed consent before a surgical procedure
- Delayed treatment
- Failure to treat
In order to win your medical malpractice claim, you need to prove four key points:
- Duty: means that you were under the care of the defendant
- Breach of duty: the defendant failed to provide medically appropriate care according to accepted standards of optometry or ophthalmology
- Damages: your injuries are a result of the defendant’s negligence or carelessness
- Causation: there is a direct cause and effect relationship between your injury and the defendant’s conduct.
Looking ahead
A loss of vision is devastating. It’s a disconnect with the world with which you are familiar and can result in serious emotional trauma, which is often difficult to recover from, especially if going blind was the result of negligence or carelessness on the part of your physician.
If you believe that you have lost your eyesight as a result of negligence or carelessness, you need to contact an attorney who is experienced in handling medical malpractice cases.
California attorney, Scott S. Harris, helps victims of medical malpractice. With more than 30 years of experience handling cases involving all types of medical malpractice, Scott S. Harris helps his clients through this most challenging and difficult period in their lives, securing for them the financial assistance they’ll need to move forward.
With offices in San Diego, Scott S. Harris handles California cases so that his clients can obtain the necessary compensation for their injuries. Contact our offices to schedule your free initial consultation.