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The Brief Guide That Makes Choosing the Best Home Inspector Simple

Did you know that over 5 million homes were sold last year alone? The real estate market this year has been equally busy, making it challenging to find a property while competing with other buyers. And once you find one, it’s important to get a home inspection done to make sure that it is in good shape.

But not all home inspectors are created equal. Make sure you do your due diligence first before you book an inspection. Check out this guide that makes choosing the best home inspector simple.

Get Recommendations for the Best Home Inspector

The first step in finding a local home inspector is to get referrals from friends and family who have recently bought homes. You can ask them who they used, and what their experience was. You can also seek help from online communities in the area and ask for recommendations.

Read Reviews Online

When you have a list of potential inspectors, it’s time to go online and read reviews. While some may be inaccurate, they should still give you a good overall picture of the person and their services. Don’t skip this homework, since it’s a key part of helping you get the best home inspection for your property.

Check Credentials

Once you’ve narrowed your list down be sure to check their credentials and see if they are licensed. Certain states require the inspector to sit for an exam. If you are in one of those, then the inspector should have taken the National Home Inspector Exam and have the certification to prove it.

Look for Experience

Another thing to look for when choosing a home inspector is experience. It’s always better to go with an individual who has had many years or even decades in the business. While seasoned inspectors might charge more for an inspection, it can be worth it if you benefit from their time spent in the industry.

Get Assistance From a Realtor

There are many reasons for getting a realtor to help you buy a home, but one of the top ones is that you will benefit from their expert advice. They can refer you to trusted professionals like home inspectors and more to help make the home buying process easier. But don’t get an inspector referral from the seller’s real estate agent, since they might steer you towards an inspector who might give a favorable outcome to make the sale go through.

Ready To Find a Home Inspector?

Now that you’ve learned the top tips on how to find the best home inspector, you can proceed with confidence. Don’t be afraid to ask other homeowners about their experiences with their own home own inspectors. If you have a real estate agent, you can ask them for guidance in choosing a trusted home inspector to look at your new potential home.

Did you find this article useful? Want to explore other exciting real estate-related topics? Then check out the rest of our site!

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5 Awesome iPhone Film Making Tips

It’s estimated there are now more than one billion active iPhones worldwide. This makes it clear that it’s a popular product and something that people want to own.

One of the top-selling factors of modern iPhones is the cameras and the ability to engage in iPhone film-making.

While the cameras are amazing, you may need some tips to use them to their full potential. Keep reading for some tips to help you improve your iPhone film making capabilities

1. Make Sure You Have Good Lighting

You know lighting is key if you have ever shot any video or film. Lighting can make or break any scene, no matter what type of camera you use.

For natural settings, shoot at the golden hour, just before the sun rises or sets. When making movies, the softer tones present this time of day are ideal for cinematic shots.

2. Keep the Camera Steady

This is another important tip. You need to keep your iPhone as steady as possible.

Your iPhone can take quality HD footage if it is still, but the image quality will start to degrade when the sensor moves.

A great way to ensure the camera remains steady is with a tripod. If you don’t have one, find a way to keep the camera steady by holding your breath during a shot or propping it on a solid surface.

3. Hold the Phone Horizontally

Unlike traditional cameras, iPhones are light, making them easy to hold. Due to this, you may be tempted to hold your phone the traditional way – up and down.

However, this can make things shaky and disrupt the natural flow of human vision.

Flip your phone horizontally and hold on to it with two hands to achieve the desired results. Horizontal shots usually display better on social media and YouTube too.

4. Sound Considerations

A good way to get quality sound with your iPhone is by having a microphone close to your mouth. You can find several quality microphones specifically for iPhones.

5. Use the Right Editing Tools

While your iPhone can capture great images and videos, it will still need some editing to be ready to use.

Make sure you have the right apps and tools in place, such as cut video iPhone. You can find more than a few editing tools, which means it should be easy to create quality videos.

Improving Your iPhone Film Making Abilities

When it comes to improving your iPhone film making abilities, a few tips can help you achieve the desired results. Be sure to use the information above to create films and videos that people will love to watch and that you will be proud of.

Are you searching for more information on topics like technology, entertainment, travel, and more? If so, check out some of the other blogs on our site. Our team works to post new content often to help you stay informed about iPhone movie making apps and more!

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The Different Types of Antiques That You Should Start Collecting

Looking for a new hobby that doesn’t involve a screen or a streaming service? Collecting antiques is a great way to reconnect with the past and even other people in your life. And you can also make some money along the way.

If you’re looking at all the different types of antiques and don’t know where to start, this list will give you a good idea. Collecting doesn’t have to take up your whole life, it can occupy a single shelf in your basement if you want.

Distracted by the Decoy

Have you ever seen those old wooden mallards lying about? Maybe someone has it on a shelf or it’s amongst a bunch of other wooden carvings at a thrift store or flea market. Decoys can sell for tens of thousands of dollars if made by a good company and in good condition.

Don’t be distracted by shinier objects when building your antique collection. A gold mine could be right under your nose in the shape of an old duck.

Nose to the Books

There are so many types of hobbies, and reading is a fairly common one. But when you’re considering the best antiques to collect, rare books are an excellent choice.

They can get quite pricey, so if you stick with the basics and only shop at cheaper flea markets and the like you could make some great finds. If they are well maintained their value can grow, and you can enjoy a shelf of beautiful works in the meantime.

Time to Clock In

Vintage clocks can be worth tons of money, and even those that are more common can garner some attention and cash. Antique clocks are one of the best collections you can build. They’re worth something, especially if you find a rare one, and you can go as big or as small as you want.

You can collect standing grandfather clocks or go for vintage timepieces kept in your pocket. Some of the best collections have a wide variety of styles and ages represented. Don’t limit yourself on one time period or timepiece, expand your options and your collection will expand as well.

Keep It in the Kitchen

If you’re going to build an antique collection, why not choose something useful? You collect 60s glassware or only cutlery, it’s up to you. There are many amazing old kitchen tools and tableware that are worth collecting.

From stoneware to glassware there are all kinds of styles to choose from for your collection. And if you already have a lot of one thing, like enamelware, learn more about it at https://barebonesliving.com/blogs/products-notes/the-history-and-benefits-of-enamelware.

All Types of Antiques

Some of the best collections aren’t limited by the types of antiques collected. Once you get started, you may find you have an eye for several different styles, or maybe one specific time period. Collecting can be exhilarating and it only takes up as much time as you want to put in.

So don’t wait to get started. Find the places near you selling antiques and get hunting today. And if you found this helpful in finding some inspiration, keep reading for more good tips.

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3 Things Everyone Should Look for When Picking a New Beauty Salon

Beauty salons are a dime a dozen, and it can be difficult to know which ones you should trust with your money and body. If you currently have a regular salon and have to find a new one for some reason, you need to take the time to look at different options and what they have to offer. If you know what to look for, you’ll be able to spot details that will give you an indication of whether a beauty salon is trustworthy or not. Let’s take a look at a few things everyone should look for when picking a new beauty salon.

Recognition

The first thing you have to do before you pick a salon is to check what kind of reputation they have in the community and within the industry. A good beauty salon should have a solid track record. Their reviews don’t have to be perfect, but it’s better to go with a salon with good recent reviews. You should also check if they’ve received awards of any sort.

Some salons like utopiabeautique.com, for instance, have won multiple awards. Going with a team like this pretty much ensures that you’ll be happy with the work they do.

Their Area of Expertise

You should also ask what their specialties are and if they can provide references from people who got the same procedure(s) as you. This is also something you’ll be able to see in the reviews.

If you see reviews for the same type of procedures and yours isn’t one of them, you need to first get evidence that the salon knows how to perform them correctly. If they can’t at least show you images of results, consider going elsewhere even if the salon is highly rated.

You should also check their website and see if you can find any background information on their stylists. Good salons will be proud to showcase their employees’ expertise, so, if you can’t find this information on their website, this is a big red flag. This is something you should be able to easily find in their “about us” section.

Customer Service

You also need to test the quality of the salon’s customer service. You need to know if you’ll be able to get in touch with someone promptly if anything goes wrong. The quality of a salon’s customer service is also a reflection of how much they care about their clients.

Give a few salons a call and see how you’re being answered. Ask specific questions about their procedures and prices. You can then make a shortlist of salons you feel could be a match and visit them. You’ll be able to get an idea of how well they treat people and how their premises look.

These are all things you need to pay special attention to when picking a beauty salon. Take your time and don’t be afraid to ask people around you what they think of a salon before choosing it.

 

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3 Really Easy Arts and Crafts Projects You Can Do From Home

Doing arts and crafts projects is a great way to express yourself and channel your emotions.

Art can help enhance every child’s cognitive development. By practicing arts and crafts, children heighten their critical thinking skills. It helps them make a mental plan or picture of what they intend to create.

Even as an adult, you can still enhance your skills through art. There are tons of arts and crafts that are easy to do and usually take less than an hour to create.

If you are looking for some fun and simple projects to do at home, here are a few options to consider.

1. Beaded Accessories

Show off your summer style with a beaded bracelet or necklace. Beaded accessories look best worn during summer. This accessory is one of the few summer arts and crafts projects you can do before going to the beach.

With these arts and crafts projects for adults, you can make jewelry of your own. To do this, all you need are colorful beads, needles for beading, and thread or wire.

Start by measuring the length of your wrist or your necklace. Cut the thread or wire according to size and tie a knot at one end. Start threading your beads using the pattern that you like.

You can use a bead spinner with a beading needle so that you can string your beads to your jewelry faster. You can do this by adding your beads and spinning the container. The beads go through the beading needle and onto your bracelet or necklace.

2. Paper Bag Puppets

If you are searching for good arts and crafts projects for kids, making a paper bag puppet is the way to go! Character puppets help kids in their language development by encouraging them to speak.

For this project, all you need is a brown paper bag and a few coloring materials. Think of a character that you can use to base your puppet. Draw its face on the paper bag and start coloring its features.

You can also add more personality to your puppet by gluing colorful feathers or fuzzy wires to it.

3. Cardboard Tube Rockets

Tissue paper rockets are one of those art projects you can do with materials you can find around your home. To do this, you will need cardboard tubes, glue, glitters, and straws for decoration.

You can start by decorating the cardboard tubes with your favorite colors. Create a rocket cap using paper cut in a circle. Use glue to attach the rocket caps to the cardboard tubes.

Decorate your rocket using glitter or paint. Then, cut strips of tissue paper for the added flame effects.

Try These Arts and Crafts Projects Today

Art projects are a great way to express yourself and get creative. We count on you to test out these arts and crafts projects we made for you.

Do you want more helpful art projects to test out? Check out more of our articles today! We cover topics on lifestyle, travel, popular news, and more.

 

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A Checklist for Updating Your Home’s Exterior

Waking up to the morning sun and the sounds of hummingbirds and butterflies is something many homeowners want but few get to enjoy. Your home’s exterior can give your home a significant boost, but the reality is that many homes are bought in a not-so-great condition. The good news is that it’s never too late to give the outdoor areas of your house a new look. Here’s a checklist to guide you in updating your home’s exterior.

Roofing

When maintaining your home’s exterior, your DIY skills can come in handy. You can easily handle common problems like changing the backyard bulb or pruning stubborn branches to let in as much sun as possible. However, roofing is not an area to be messed with, as issues concerning the installation of a new roof can be complex for DIY. Calling professional roofers for a little help might be a good idea.

Enlisting roof repair experts from your community to do an excellent job will save you a lot of headache. For instance, if you’re in Merritt Island or its surrounding areas, a quick search for a “Merritt Island roofing contractor” on Google can bring up several results for your roofing needs. The reason is that the roofing industry has many varieties in materials, installation technologies, colors, and more. Professional roofing contractor companies with years of experience know which plan best fits your outdoor roof project. There’s also the issue of climate change, which requires different roofing choices to match a specific place’s rainfall pattern and other conditions. For example, getting a tile roof for your Merritt Island home may work well, but it may not be an ideal choice for someone staying around Melbourne Beach and other surrounding areas. Different factors come into play, and it pays to have the right hands to guide your way to the best exterior decisions.

Garden

An outdoor garden or patio decorated with outside plants is a great way to upgrade your home’s exterior. For many people, greenery is valuable and can also significantly impact a home’s value. Aside from the aesthetic value, outside patios with the right plants and flowers can be the perfect place for relaxation. However, cultivating new plants or creating a new garden from scratch is no easy task.

Generally, you’ll need water, sunlight, fertilizer, and other related knickknacks for your patio to bloom, but dealing with pests and other crop failure factors can be hectic for beginners. So, it’s important to know which plants are easy to maintain and will have no problem growing in your outdoor garden (considering the amount of time and resources needed for plant care). For example, some plants need much sunlight and can grow in extreme temperatures, but opting for such plants might not be a good idea if your local area doesn’t have the full sun in view. Others require much water and do well in moist soil conditions.

Choose the ones that fit your needs and try your best to do a great job with gardening. A blooming garden’s benefits are endless. You can get lovely plants like tomatoes for food. To lighten your mood, you can depend on flowers like hibiscus, petunia, and more. According to some health experts, blooming flowers like geraniums can help reduce susceptibility to depression and other mental health disorders.

Walkways

Adding color and aesthetics to your home’s walkways can make your outdoor areas appealing and easy to navigate. You can theme your walkways around a central garden from which every other sidewalk flows, just like a typical quadrangle. If you have a large compound, you can install walkway sheds to shield your visitors from the effects of the outside temperature.

These ideas can help you elevate the look of your home’s exterior!

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Construction Tips to Know Before Building Your First Home

If you happen to be delving into the vast world of construction for the very first time, you likely have an exciting and incredibly testing time ahead of you.

The reward for perseverance is of course huge – you get to say that you built your own custom home!

There are some big pitfalls to avoid, however, and many, many details to ponder over. When it all comes together and starts to run smoothly, the process can feel great.

Before you go ahead with the build, however, it is well-worth taking a look at a few handy construction tips to set you off in the right direction.

Don’t Forget the Air Barriers

If you want to make sure your home is sufficiently protected from the elements, and that its structural integrity is kept sound after all of your hard work, installing dependable air barriers is a must.

Without them, you may fail to optimize your home’s indoor climate, resulting in a poorly optimized build.

This can help you prevent air leakage, saving you both money and energy at the same time, it’s a win-win.

Plus, air leakage may end up damaging your build itself, particularly if you live in a climate that provides the conditions for mold to thrive in.

Choose Reliable Materials

Opting for cheaper, lower quality materials may come back to bite you in the long run. Making a saving on cheaper materials will not be a saving at all if it ends up costing you money in repairs.

Sometimes, opting for the higher quality straight out of the gate is the only way to go in construction.

It is worth noting that cheaper does not always mean less quality, particularly when you consider material like concrete it its sheet form.

It will change the overall look of your house, however, so maintaining your adaptability is key in order to avoid disappointment.

Keep an Eye on the Budget

Construction can be extremely expensive. Even after accounting for the upfront costs of labor, equipment, machinery and materials, your final figure will probably change over and over again throughout the process.

This can be for a huge number of reasons, like the discovery of some foundational issues, a shortage in raw materials, environmental setbacks or a lack of available workforce.

Allow yourself room for flexibility, and make sure that your budget contains a large enough buffer to support you in case anything too disastrous happens.

Access to Power

When getting caught up in all the excitement of putting your very first home together, it can be bizarrely easy to forget about some of the smaller, yet nonetheless essential details that can improve the quality of your finished build.

Access to power outlets is a prime example of this. No matter how intricate or simple your build, if you cannot access essential utilities, it might not be comfortable to live inside.

Consulting an electrician and an architect may help you out in this area. If you wanted to bring your design to life before you spent vast amounts of money on it, you may find some virtual reality software can come in handy.

 

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Healing From the Pain of Past Abuse – Teal Swan

One of the most difficult things we can do during our healing is to see the abuse we suffered as a blessing in disguise. Relationship experts like Teal Swan can help you transform pain into joy.

It’s not easy to treat the abuse we have suffered as a blessing in disguise, especially when it is still so fresh in our minds. Likewise, it can be difficult to see how something that has caused us so much pain could be helpful to us. But this is where relationship experts say we need to start healing from the pain of past abuse.

Much like a scar left after surgery, we can look at the abuse we’ve suffered and see it as a reminder of how far we have come, something to be proud of instead of ashamed. By looking at that area of our life with gratitude for what happened, relationship experts say we can finally enjoy the benefits of past pain.

Looking at other people’s lives, especially successful ones, make it easy to see how they ended up where they are now because of their past experiences. Take Taylor Swift, for example; she had a difficult time with one man after another throughout her teenage years and early twenties before finding an older gentleman to be her boyfriend. Take J.K Rowling, who was once so poor she couldn’t afford to buy food for herself and had to rely on welfare to get by. Finally, there’s Oprah Winfrey, who was sexually abused as a child but went on to become an inspiration for women worldwide, encouraging them to rise above their pain and find their way to success. All three of these women suffered greatly in the past, but now they are role models for so many others. So it makes sense that their hardships didn’t just come out of nowhere; they made them who they are today.

If you take a look at your life, at the abuse you’ve experienced, it’s easy to see that you can’t have ended up where you are now just because of chance. Of course, it takes a lot of strength and courage to grow past the pain we’ve suffered, but according to relationship experts, there’s a funny thing about growth:

“When we stop fighting what is, extraordinary things happen.” – Alex Grey

Alex Grey is probably best known for her work as an artist; she has had numerous solo exhibitions of her artwork, and it’s been shown in museums worldwide. Alex was inspired by a spiritual experience when she was 16 years old. Shortly after, she started painting. Her artwork is a mixture of different styles, but most of it incorporates very intricate human bodies. Alex has said that her work is mostly about showing the interconnectedness of all living things, which she believes everyone needs to be reminded of sometimes. Her paintings are beautiful and powerful because they help us remember this truth.

The truth is, fighting against what is happening in your life won’t make you happy, and it won’t make you feel better. Even though we don’t always enjoy the pain we’re going through, trying to stop it from happening can be even worse. If we continue fighting against what’s true for us, we’ll only end up getting upset and not knowing why. Nowhere is this more apparent than in our relationships; when we try to hold on to someone that doesn’t want us anymore or stick with something that has long since stopped making us happy, we end up stuck in pain instead of moving on.

 

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Christmas Desserts to Make Your Holiday Special – Javier Burillo

Chef Javier Burillo shares his favorite Christmas dessert recipes.

Curacao

Curacao is delicious cookies made of flour, sugar, butter, and egg yolks with raisins mixed at the end. This delicacy is enjoyed on Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

The tradition of eating curacao during the holidays is that the fishermen used to make these cookies to send them as gifts for their families; their wives would put a letter inside it.

The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients: 2 cups sugar, 1 cup of butter, 5 egg yolks, 3 tablespoons raisins, 1 tablespoon bitter orange juice or rum.

Before getting started, prepare a plate with flour and wrap the curacao dough in plastic while still warm but stiff.

Preparation: Heat the stove at medium while stirring the margarine and sugar until dissolved to make a syrup; add one by one the yolks. Stir for about 10 minutes without stopping so that there are no lumps and the mixture becomes creamy; add raisins and bitter orange juice or rum. When the mixture starts boiling, remove it from the stove and stir vigorously for another ten minutes. When cold, take out of the pot and knead on a floured surface to make dough. Break off pieces and roll out each one with a rolling pin. Wrap the dough around the plate since it is very soft.

Makes 40 cookies.

Gingerbread

Gingerbread is a delicious cookie made of flour, sugar, butter, egg yolks, cinnamon, anise seed, and ginger. The tradition of eating these cookies during the holidays comes from Germany, where people used them to celebrate Christmas or New Year’s Eve because they believed that these treats bring good luck for next year.

The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients: 1 cup sugar, 4 tablespoons margarine or butter, 3 egg yolks, ½ teaspoon aniseed powder or ground aniseed, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder or ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ginger powder or ground ginger, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 4 tablespoons cold coffee.

Before getting started, prepare a plate with flour and wrap the dough in plastic while still warm but stiff.

Preparation: Heat the stove at medium while stirring margarine or butter until dissolved; add sugar and stir for about 10 minutes without stopping so that there are no lumps and it becomes creamy; add yolks one by one making sure they do not get lumpy, aniseed powder or ground aniseed, cinnamon powder or ground cinnamon, ginger powder or ground ginger. When the mixture starts boiling, remove from stove and stir vigorously for about 5 minutes until it cools; take out of the pot and knead on a floured surface to make dough. Break off pieces and roll out each one with a rolling pin. Wrap the dough around the plate since it is very soft. Dip your fingers in flour and press down for them to take their usual shape; bend them as you would do with gingerbread men or women and decorate with icing snowflakes.

Makes about 24 cookies depending on their size.

Fruit Cake – Cornucopia

Although this fruit cake is made without alcohol that is usually added to help preserve cakes, this cake nonetheless keeps fresh until Easter, thanks to the curacao from Curacao Desserts Recipe. This fruit cake can be presented on any occasion but is most frequently served during Christmas time since people usually make them to give away as presents.

The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients: 3 eggs, 1 cup sugar, ¼ cup margarine or butter, 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder or ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of aniseed powder or ground aniseed, ½ teaspoon cloves powder or ground cloves, ½ teaspoon vanilla, 1 cup of candied orange peel, 1 cup of candied citron or lemon zest, 2 tablespoons curacao.

Preparation: Heat the oven at 350 ºF while beating egg yolks and sugar in a bowl; add one by one egg whites, butter, or margarine melted in a small saucepan. Stir for about 10 minutes without stopping so that there are no lumps. Add flour and curacao one by one alternating between each other. Add candied orange peel or citron zest, cinnamon powder or ground cinnamon, cloves powder or ground clove s, aniseed powder or ground aniseed, vanilla extract.

Makes 2 medium-size fruit cakes, each one 5 inches diameter, and 2 ½ inches height.

 

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The Basics of Medical Malpractice – Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates

Medical malpractice is frequently misunderstood. There are many malpractice attorneys out there to guide you (like the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates), but the average person mistakenly believes that injuries caused by medical malpractice are limited to accidents made by medical professionals or to mistakes during surgery.

In reality, however, a patient can suffer any number of types of injuries from medical malpractice — from being given the wrong medication at the hospital to being misdiagnosed in your doctor’s office. Medical malpractice can be defined as the negligence of a doctor, surgeon, nurse, or another medical professional that caused harm to a patient.

For a case to be considered medical malpractice, it must involve the failure of a doctor to use the standard of care in the diagnosis and treatment of their patient. This means that if your doctor makes a mistake during surgery or gives you the wrong medication, they have breached their duty to the patient. It is by breaking this “duty” that a doctor becomes liable for medical malpractice.

By law, doctors owe two duties to each of their patients: the duty of care and protection. The first holds them accountable for the reasonable treatment of their patient; the second holds them accountable for protecting their patients from unreasonable harm.

This means that doctors must treat each patient with reasonable care and caution, using the same degree of knowledge and skill as any other doctor practicing in their specialty would use. If they do not, then they have breached their duty of care and are liable for any injury that results.

However, it is important to remember that the duty of care does not place an absolute requirement on the doctor. This means that doctors have a reasonable degree of leeway when treating patients — they can’t choose to use outdated methods simply because they prefer them. However, they must make a reasonable effort to keep up with medical advancements and procedures, as those are what other doctors now consider standard care.

In addition to the duty of care, doctors have another responsibility: to protect their patients from harm or further injury. In order for this duty to be breached, there must be evidence that the doctor’s actions or lack thereof led to injury or exposed the patient to a reasonable risk of harm. It is only in these circumstances that medical malpractice is established.

The biggest trouble most people have with understanding medical malpractice is that it does not necessarily involve “error” on the part of medical professionals. In fact, doctors are human, which means they are going to make mistakes from time to time. The difference between a medical error and a medical malpractice is whether the mistake falls below a reasonable standard of care — did another doctor, practicing in the same specialty under similar circumstances, have a reasonable degree of success? If so, then the case for malpractice can be made.

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