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According to Forbes, over $3 Billion in payouts were awarded to winners of medical malpractice cases. Some large and some small, it evens out to be a little over 1 payout per hour!

While these statistics might be good for the patients, they don’t look great for those in the medical industry. While you can never avoid the people who will cause problems, you can cover your bases by considering some of the most important facts about medical malpractice.

Sure you learned the definition of medical malpractice, but what is it really? What is medical malpractice in 2014? By definition, it is when a health-care professional deviates from what a prudent profession would or would have not done. By today’s measurement, anything that can be determined as “negligent” is going to be considered malpractice.

Handle Bad Outcomes

First, how can you determine what the patient means by “negligence?” A bad outcome doesn’t exactly equal a winning case. Sometimes, when a medical professional does his or her best and fails, a patient’s family has a difficult time accepting this. Handling a case professionally and quickly can smooth things out.

Speak with Tact

Tact and apologies go along way after a patient expresses his or her disappointment in the outcome. Be careful when apologizing so you do not offend the patient. Accepting blame for bad outcomes and/or explaining what happened could help the current situation.

Deja Vu

Most medical professionals are for the patient, and they always keep their focus. However, sometimes, complacency and monotony cause many medical professionals to think of patients as another part of his or her workday, instead of the people they are. This is when most medical malpractice cases are born.

Using Colleagues

Before making decisions, especially large medical ones, consult other doctors. Even though the decisions are yours and yours alone, in the event of a bad outcome, you’ve proven that you’ve gone through great trouble to make the best decision for the patient.

While administering medical care is a difficult and tricky thing, there are many steps that medical professionals can take in order to avoid making the case more difficult.