Medical Malpractice Terms and Definitions

Delirium A disturbance of the brain function that causes confusion and changes in alertness, attention, thinking and reasoning, memory, emotions, sleeping patterns and coordination. Medical negligence Failure of a physician or other medical personnel to meet the standards of conduct for duties relating to the medical profession. Those standards are based on what a reasonable person with the requisite knowledge and skills would or would not do. Arbitration A process for deciding a legal dispute out of court; a substitute for an ordinary trial. Fibromyalgia A pain disorder in which a person feels widespread pain and stiffness in the muscles, fatigue, and other symptoms. 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. Assumption of risk In the law of negligence, as a defense, a defendant's allegation that the injured plaintiff recognized the danger of the plaintiff's course of action but, nonetheless, willingly chose to risk such danger. 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. 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. Comparative negligence The doctrine of comparing degrees of fault among the responsible parties. Noneconomic damages Damages payable for items other than monetary losses, such as pain and suffering. The term technically includes punitive damages, but those are typically discussed separately.

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

	Did You Know?
	You still have rights even if you signed a consent form A consent form does not give the health care provider a license to commit malpractice. While the execution of a typical consent form indicates acknowledgement of stated risks and complications associated with a given treatment or procedure, it does not relieve the health care provider from his or her duty of meeting the standard of care associated with such treatment or procedure.