Medical Malpractice Terms and Definitions

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. Negligence Failure to exercise that degree of care that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances. When that failure causes another person to suffer an injury or financial loss, that person may be entitled to just compensation through our civil justice system. 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. 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. Elder Abuse Is any "physical abuse, neglect, financial abuse, abandonment, isolation, abduction or other treatment with resulting in physical harm or pain or mental suffering, or the deprivation by a care custodian of goods or services that are necessary to avoid physical harm or mental suffering Spinal cord abscess Spinal cord abscess is a disorder characterized by inflammation and a collection of infected material (pus) around the spinal cord. Res ipsa loquitur The use of res ipsa loquitur should be prohibited in medical malpractice cases because under this doctrine the mere fact that the injury occurs means that the defendant was negligent, although it is not all the time. Affidavit A voluntary statement or declaration of facts that has been written down and confirmed under oath. Board-certified specialist A physician who has successfully completed an ACGME-approved residency program or its equivalent in an American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)-recognized specialty and has been certified by an ABMS member board Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate A cleft is a separation in a body structure. Clefts that occur in the oral-facial region often involve the lip, the roof of the mouth (hard palate) or the soft tissue in the back of the mouth (soft palate).

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

	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.