You or your loved one is the victim of a medical malpractice when your “health care provider” negligently treated you or your loved one causing injury or death.

Health care providers are more than simply physicians. Washington statutes define a health care provider” as a, “dentist, dental office or staff, pathologist, neurologist, oncologist, cardiologist, toxicologist, pharmacologist, technician, nursing home or staff, hospital or hospital worker a licensed acupuncturist, a physician, osteopathic physician, dentist, nurse, optometrist, podiatric physician and surgeon, chiropractor, physical therapist, psychologist, pharmacist, optician, physician's assistant, midwife, osteopathic physician's assistant, nurse practitioner, or physician's trained mobile intensive care paramedic.” RCW 7.70.020(1).

A health care provider is negligent if his or her conduct falls below the “standard of care” in Washington or if he or she failed to obtain informed consent from you or your loved one.

The “standard of care” in Washington provides that a health care provider is negligent if he or she “failed to exercise that degree of care, skill, and learning expected of a reasonably prudent health care provider at that time in the profession or class to which he belongs, in the state of Washington, acting in the same or similar circumstances” and “such failure was a proximate cause of the injury complained of.” RCW 7.70.040(1), (2).

To show that your health care provider failed to obtain informed consent, you must show:

• The health care provider failed to inform the patient of a material fact or facts relating to the treatment
  
  
• The patient consented to the treatment without being aware of or fully informed of such material fact or facts
  
  
• That under similar circumstances, a reasonably prudent patient would not have consented to the treatment if informed of such material fact or facts
  
  
• The treatment in question proximately caused the patient injury.

If you are the victim of a negligent health care provider, contact The Farber Law Group. At The Farber Law Group, we are experienced in representing the victims of negligent doctors and other health care providers and in helping victims recover compensation for your injuries, or those of a loved one.

Please contact us for a free consultation.