Medical Malpractice Terms and Definitions

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. Interrogatories A form of discovery in which one party submits a series of written questions to the other party, and to which the latter is bound to answer under oath. Confidentiality The principle that prohibits physicians from disclosing confidential comments made to them by patients unless required to do so by law. The law may require physicians to violate patient confidentiality if the patient poses a serious threat to his or her own health and the well-being or that of others. Delirium A disturbance of the brain function that causes confusion and changes in alertness, attention, thinking and reasoning, memory, emotions, sleeping patterns and coordination. 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. Economic damages Funds to compensate a plaintiff for the monetary costs of an injury, such as medical bills or loss of income. Subrogation A process by which a third party is put in the place of a creditor so that the rights and securities of the creditor pass to that third person. Medical lien The right of a hospital, doctor or health care provider to assert an interest in personal injury recoveries to the extent of the cost of the treatment or service provided. Informed Consent Is the process by which fully informed patients can participate in choices about Their healthcare. It originates from the legal and ethical right the patient has to direct what happens to her body and from the ethical duty of the physician to involve the patient in her health care. Arbitration A process for deciding a legal dispute out of court; a substitute for an ordinary trial.

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

	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.