Medical Malpractice Terms and Definitions

Elder Abuse Is any "physical abuse, neglect, financial abuse, abandonment, isolation, abduction or other treatment with resulting in physical harm or pain or mental suffering, or the deprivation by a care custodian of goods or services that are necessary to avoid physical harm or mental suffering Arbitration panels Many states have formed arbitration panels in order to resolve disputes between doctors and their patients. 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. 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. Trigeminal Neuralgia A disorder of the trigeminal nerve that causes brief attacks of severe pain in the lips, cheeks, gums, or chin on one side of the face. 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. Economic damages Funds to compensate a plaintiff for the monetary costs of an injury, such as medical bills or loss of income. Plaintiff The party who initiates a legal action; in a personal injury lawsuit, the person who alleges that he or she has suffered monetary damages due the negligence of another party. Allodynia When pain is caused by something that does not normally cause pain (such as clothing touching the skin). Obstetrics Prenatal care requires collecting, tracking and analyzing a complex series of clinical data collected over several prenatal visits.

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

	Did You Know?
	FDA receives medication error reports on marketed human drugs You can see FDA drug reports at fda.com . Problems from drugs can include: professional practice, health care products, procedures, and systems, including prescribing; order communication; product labeling, packaging, and nomenclature; compounding; dispensing; distribution; administration; education; monitoring; and use.