You do not have to be a genius to know that every doctor's duty is to take care of his or her patients. Now, even though this goes without saying, sometimes the situation doesn't go in the right direction.
What does it mean? It means that a physician ends up providing low-quality care that may seriously jeopardize the health of a patient. If that occurs, that individual has the right to file a medical malpractice action against his/her healthcare provider.
Since all these mistakes could potentially cause devastating results, it's of great relevance to get yourself familiar with this situation and the steps you can take to make things right. Carefully go through this article to get more info.
Important Facts That Must Be Known
Malpractice Has Different Forms
Numerous injuries, along with unnecessary deaths caused by people from the healthcare industry are precisely the result of many mistakes. Namely, medical negligence can be the result of postponed treatment of various issues like cancer, or infections.
It can also be from surgical errors, bad interpretation of laboratory results, failure to get a proper diagnosis, etc. Besides the ones that we just mentioned, there are so many of them. Therefore, it wouldn't hurt if you consulted with someone who is a professional (like lawyers) who is going to help with your claim because that's something you cannot do on your own. He or she will be able to determine the seriousness of a medical malpractice case.
How Can You Determine It?
As we stated in the beginning, a malpractice claim can be made only if your doctor has caused you some injuries or harms. Remember, that even though you may have had a negative experience, it doesn't mean that it is truly medical negligence.
In some situations, your physician is going to let you know that your previous healthcare provider was irresponsible and negligent or if he or she is completely honest with you, he will tell you that maybe even you have made a mistake.
If none of these scenarios occur, and your current doctor is the one to blame, then he will potentially try to make amends by apologizing to you to prevent any further consequences or get a settlement without going to court.
Usually, in these situations, insurance companies are yearning to settle with a damaged person directly if possible, which is a great opportunity for them to do so before more information about injuries comes up.
Another benefit that arrives from this step is to prevent their client to hire an advocate who could potentially increase the settlement validity of the libel via their representation. Therefore, you must bear in mind that these types of prosecutions can be quite costly, as well as stressful.
Is There Any Limit To File A Lawsuit?
As a matter of fact, yes, there is. Generally speaking, an injured person should file a lawsuit within two years from the date this malpractice happened or at least from the moment he or she realized that something negative occurred. In specific situations, the limit may be different. For instance, if we are talking about a minor. In this case, that person has the right to file a malpractice lawsuit until his/her eighteenth birthday. On the other hand, if that child died due to malpractice, then parents also have two years to do something about it.
The Most Common Medical Malpractice Claims
There are so many of them, starting from the ones that involve children to those that involve older people, however, the most common ones, that eventually end up on court typically include:
- Anesthesia mistakes
- Misdiagnosis or postponed diagnosis
- Surgery errors
- Childbirth complications or injuries
- Wrongly prescribed medications
How To Prove It?
There are two key steps that must be taken when it comes to proving medical negligence and they usually include:
- Firstly, you as a patient must prove that your healthcare provider or any other medical professional has violated the rules regarding your medical care. All doctors are familiar with them, hence, it's a huge problem if they breach them.
- Secondly, you have to prove that any mistake that was made, caused you some serious damages. Both of these things can be done if you have a proper expert by your side.
Do not delay anything. The sooner you do something about it, the better, especially if your doctor was extremely irresponsible to you. These situations happen all the time, and nobody should be silent about it. So focus on these tips to determine your options and remember, only an experienced attorney can help you get what you want.
