Going to see your healthcare provider is always a scary situation, whether a routine check up or a random falling ill you can never be sure about what you are going to have to experience once you get to your appointment.
What nobody plans for is being in a situation where they have experienced malpractice, this can lead to serious health issues if your healthcare professional has been negligent.
Listed below are how to know if your healthcare professional has been negligent and the steps that you can take to get compensation and justice if you have experienced this.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is when a healthcare professional fails to give the proper treatment to his/her patient which can lead to furthering of illness and disease, injury and even death.
These are the results of a medical error, which could be a mistake in the medical diagnosis, a medication dosage or treatment and healthcare of a patient.
If a patient has experienced medical malpractice they can claim compensation which is made possible by the medical malpractice law that has been put in place.
What are the common types of malpractice?
There are a number of factors that can contribute to malpractice negligence and this includes the following:
An injury that results from negligence
Only proof of an injury that has resulted from medical negligence can be considered for compensation.
There are damaging consequences to the injury
These damaging consequences should be of the following to be regarded as compensation worthy.
Damage such as constant pain, enduring hardships, suffering, considerable loss of income, and disability.
Failure to provide a proper standard of care
Medical professionals should adhere to a certain standard of care, if they do not provide it and the patient experiences negligence they can be sued for malpractice.
Failure to administer duty of informed consent
The known risks of the procedure should have been told to the patient before going ahead. If the patient hasn’t been informed of the possibility of any risks and they end up injured after the procedure, then they can sue for malpractice.
Surgical malpractice
When undergoing surgery, all the people who have been involved in the surgery can be sued for malpractice if something goes wrong during the surgery.
How do you file a malpractice complaint?
If you have been the victim of malpractice then lodging a complaint should be the next step that you take.
You can either complain directly to your healthcare provider, the hospital administrator or the licensing board with help of a malpractice lawyer.
Here are some of the cases in which you can file a grievance.
- If there is some medical information in your chart that is incorrect, bring it up with staff and the doctor can help clear it up in no time.
- If you are unhappy with your doctor/medical professional tone of talk or have no bedside manner, you can highlight these things to them directly which could help for your next visit.
- If you have experienced discomfort or feel insulted by your doctor, then filing a grievance can stop it from occurring again, you can also speak to another member of the staff about how you feel.
- If you have been billed incorrectly, or overcharged for services that weren’t provided.
- If you have been injured due to a procedure, or haven’t been informed about the risks of a treatment then filing a complaint to the hospital manager with the help of your attorney should be done. Especially if you are filing to get compensation.
These are the elements that make up a malpractice complaint and will hold up in the courts when you sue your doctor/medical professional.
Duty of Care
You need to prove that the medical professional you are suing had the legal and moral obligation to treat you.
Breach of Care
You need to be able to prove that the level of care you received didn’t meet the standard of medical care that you were supposed to receive. You will also need another expert in the field to confirm that you weren’t treated properly.
Cause and Effect of Malpractice
You need to be able to show that you have an injury as a result of the malpractice.
Damage
You would then have to show the level of damage that was caused by the medical malpractice directly.
You can sue for mental anguish, loss of work and earning capacity, additional medical bills, and physical pain.
The Process of a Malpractice Lawsuit
After filing the complaint in a court of law, the plaintiff and the defendant will share documents, depositions and interrogatories.
To avoid going to trial, the parties can settle outside of court, if not then a trial will take place.
The plaintiff will provide all the evidence to prove that the medical professional has been negligent and as a result of that has left the patient injured.
The fact-finder will take information from both parties and evaluate to put together a verdict. The judge will then decide on the verdict and the damages that are due to the patient, as well as whether there are punitive damages for the medical practitioner.
Type of Compensation That You Might Get
There are two different compensation types that the plaintiff can receive. These can either be punitive damages or compensation damages.
Punitive damages
These are awarded if the medical practitioner is found guilty of being negligent and will face punishment alongside given compensation.
Compensation damages
These damages can include loss of work, excessive medical care expenses and life care expenses as a result of the injury.
There can also be compensation for the physical and psychological harm due to the injury as well emotional distress.
Conclusion
Sustaining an injury and seeking medical attention should never result in a lawsuit on standard medical treatments.
However, in some cases people can leave their hospital or doctor in a worse state than when they entered.
If this is the case, then patients are allowed to claim compensation for the malpractice they have received and seek justice in a court of law to ensure that they are properly compensated for should they sustain injuries that could have been avoided.