Medical Malpractice Terms and Definitions

Stipulation An agreement, admission or concession made in a judicial proceeding by the parties or their attorneys, thus relieving a party of its obligation to produce evidence in support of an argument or allegation. Fibromyalgia A pain disorder in which a person feels widespread pain and stiffness in the muscles, fatigue, and other symptoms. 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. Informed Consent Is the process by which fully informed patients can participate in choices about Their healthcare. It originates from the legal and ethical right the patient has to direct what happens to her body and from the ethical duty of the physician to involve the patient in her health care. 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. Spinal cord abscess Spinal cord abscess is a disorder characterized by inflammation and a collection of infected material (pus) around the spinal cord. 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. Delirium A disturbance of the brain function that causes confusion and changes in alertness, attention, thinking and reasoning, memory, emotions, sleeping patterns and coordination. Collateral source rule Under this rule, compensation awarded to an injured party shall not be reduced by the amount of compensation available to him from his insurance company or other independent sources. Discovery The pre-trial process, such as a deposition, by which one party discovers the evidence that will be relied upon at trial by the opposing party.

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

	Did You Know?
	Errors in hospital Emergency Rooms are a common occurrence They are infrequently talked about and rarely reported to the media. That is why you don't hear about these types of cases on the news. Understaffed hospitals or ill-equipped emergency rooms may lead to fatal errors while dealing with patients requiring emergency treatment. When the necessary steps of treating an emergency room patient are sidestepped, then an emergency error may result.