Medical Malpractice Terms and Definitions

Miscarriage When circumstances cause the mother's body to react to a problem in the pregnancy. This may cause bleeding, cramping, and will ultimately cause the loss of the pregnancy. Cystic Fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited disease that most commonly affects breathing and digestion. Advances in medical treatment continue to improve the outlook for affected children and adults. However, there is no cure 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. Comparative negligence The doctrine of comparing degrees of fault among the responsible parties. Delirium A disturbance of the brain function that causes confusion and changes in alertness, attention, thinking and reasoning, memory, emotions, sleeping patterns and coordination. Acute Pain Pain that has a known cause and occurs for a limited time. Acute pain usually responds to treatment with analgesic medications and treatment of the cause of the pain. Affidavit A voluntary statement or declaration of facts that has been written down and confirmed under oath. Anesthesia A large class of claims related to anesthesia has resulted from cases where the anesthesiologist or anesthetist did not take a complete medical history of angina, myocardial infarction, recent upper respiratory infection, and asthma. 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. Economic damages Funds to compensate a plaintiff for the monetary costs of an injury, such as medical bills or loss of income.

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

	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.