Medical Malpractice Terms and Definitions

Allodynia When pain is caused by something that does not normally cause pain (such as clothing touching the skin). Economic damages Funds to compensate a plaintiff for the monetary costs of an injury, such as medical bills or loss of income. 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. Proximate Cause Proximate cause is defined legally as a cause which, in a natural and continuous sequence, unbroken by any intervening event, produces injury, and without which, the injury would not have occurred. Terminal sedation Terminal sedation is the use of high doses of sedatives to relieve extremes of physical distress. Its purpose is to render the patient unconscious to relieve suffering until the patient dies from his or her disease processes and their complications. 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 Affidavit A voluntary statement or declaration of facts that has been written down and confirmed under oath. Medications Malpractice This category covers claims arising from inaccurate medication prescriptions, such as wrong medication or dosage level. Spinal cord abscess Spinal cord abscess is a disorder characterized by inflammation and a collection of infected material (pus) around the spinal cord. Surgical Error Surgical errors may occur in any kind of medical procedure involving intrusive and non-intrusive surgery. Even the simplest of cosmetic surgical procedures may result in a surgical error.

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

	Did You Know?
	Drug-switching practices happen and are very dangerous Another public-spirited drug giant, Merck, was forced to pay a settlement of $1.9 million to 17 states in 1995 for drug-switching practices involving its Medco subsidiary. Medco pharmacists, who had given excessively favorable treatment to Merck products, were thereafter required to reveal their Merck connection to their customers.