Medical Malpractice Terms and Definitions

Obstetrics Prenatal care requires collecting, tracking and analyzing a complex series of clinical data collected over several prenatal visits. Medical Treatment Lawsuits related to medical treatment are triggered by a number of causes, including failure to select the correct treatment or to monitor or follow up on the patient's condition. 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. Res ipsa loquitur The use of res ipsa loquitur should be prohibited in medical malpractice cases because under this doctrine the mere fact that the injury occurs means that the defendant was negligent, although it is not all the time. 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. 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. Causalgia Pain, usually burning, that is associated with autonomic changes -- change in color of the skin, change in temperature, change in sweating, swelling. Causalgia occurs after a nerve injury. 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. Fibromyalgia A pain disorder in which a person feels widespread pain and stiffness in the muscles, fatigue, and other symptoms. Allodynia When pain is caused by something that does not normally cause pain (such as clothing touching the skin).

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

	Did You Know?
	Gastric-Bypass surgery is an intrusive & risky surgical operation Gastric-bypass malpractice occurs when a medical professional causes harm or personal injury while performing the surgery or through a general or particular negligence. Some types of gastric bypass operations: Open Roux en Y (Rny), (Restrictive with some Malabsorption) Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y,Fobi Pouch (Restrictive with Malabsorption) , stomach staple, & more.