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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.
Statute of limitations
A statute specifying the period of time after the occurrence of an injury--or, in some cases, after the discovery of the injury or of its cause--during which any suit must be filed.
Cesarean
Commonly referred to as "C-section". A surgical procedure in delivering the baby. Epidural (pain medicine) is given at this time, and an incision is made in the very low part of the woman's abdomen
Fibromyalgia
A pain disorder in which a person feels widespread pain and stiffness in the muscles, fatigue, and other symptoms.
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy refers to a group of conditions that affect control of movement and posture. Because of damage to one or more parts of the brain that control movement, an affected child cannot move his or her muscles normally. While symptoms range from mild to severe, the condition does not get worse as the child gets older.
Duty of Care
Once a doctor or health care professional agrees to diagnose or treat a patient, he or she has assumed a duty of care toward that patient.
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.
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.
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.
Comparative negligence
The doctrine of comparing degrees of fault among the responsible parties.
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