Medical practitioners have a duty of care to their patients and individuals they offer their professional services to. When treating their patients, they’re required to follow due procedure and maintain the recognized “standard of care” from the point of consultation to diagnosis, prescription, and post-treatment care.
When the practitioner deviates from these standards of practice, it can be considered medical malpractice, which can be overly taxing and painstaking to the victim on the receiving end.
In most cases, negligence is the monster behind medical malpractice, which can range from a wrong diagnosis to a bad prescription or a procedure gone wrong. There are even serious cases where patients hire a birth injury lawyer because of medical malpractice.
To the victim, the consequences of medical malpractice can be deleterious to their health… some can be disabling or even fatal. While there’s no sure way of telling that you’re a victim of medical malpractice, the patient may exhibit some signs that could potentially suggest it.
For instance, your medical issue may go from mild to worse or even life-threatening after a particular trip to the doctor, prescription, or procedure. It could also be unusual side effects or health complications. But what do you do once you suspect that your woes could be as a result of a medical practitioner?
Here are some pointers on what to do as a victim of medical malpractice.
Think About Your Health First
As mentioned earlier, you may not be able to tell for sure that it’s your healthcare practitioner’s fault that your condition is getting worse or you’ve suffered some medical injuries. However, your instincts may not be wrong and the first and most important thing to do is to seek medical attention from a different provider or practitioner.
Depending on the injuries you’ve suffered or the extent of your suffering, the new medical practitioner can help get your health back on track through correcting the mistake and recommending a new treatment plan, thus protecting your health. When going to a different doctor, make sure you have your medical records from the previous practitioner as this will be important in proving medical negligence.
Talk to an Attorney
As you continue recovering through the second doctor’s treatment plan, the next thing you’ll want to do is consult an attorney that specializes in medical malpractice cases. And there are many different types of medical malpractice, including those that involve diagnosis, medical procedures, and medication, as well as medical devices.
As for the latter case, the drug watcher team at https://www.drugwatcher.org/ point out that there’s a wide range of medications and medical devices out there that are known to cause adverse side-effects or even severe injury in some users. A good percentage of the victims of such circumstances end up suing either the doctor (for bad prescription), pharmacist (for improper labeling/typing mistakes), or even the manufacturer.
However, proving negligence in a medical malpractice lawsuit is often a complex process that can sometimes be lengthy and overly expensive. This is why you need an experienced medical malpractice lawyer on your side whenever you fall victim to this giant medical vice.
In addition to promptly providing you with legal counsel, a good attorney should be able to gather enough evidence to prove negligence in your medical malpractice case. They will also ensure that your medical malpractice lawsuit is filed in good time as per the statutes of limitations applicable in your state or country.
Having an expert legal team representing you will increase the chances of receiving a favorable settlement or compensation for your pain and suffering from medical malpractice.
Keep Your Interactions Documented
Any medical consultation, treatment plan, reports, and bills should be properly documented. This is because for starters, your faded memory may not be so reliable in a court of law, especially after suffering injuries from medical malpractice, and the jury knows this too.
Keeping a journal of your medical interactions will help your legal team and the jury to track and confirm your medical records from the healthcare facilities you visited if need be. Having a copy of such medical reports may also minimize the chances of losing the suit in case someone tampered with the original medical records.
Medical malpractice is the last ordeal anyone would want to fall victim to. In addition to the physical pain and suffering, it can be financially deadening, and emotionally overwhelming. Depending on the severity of the issue, you may not even be able to provide for yourself, let alone your family or loved ones.
The above few steps can help you get back to your normal life and hopefully receive the compensation you deserve while the medical malpractitioner faces the full force of the law. And you never know, pursuing the lawsuit could even end up saving thousands, if not millions, of people who could have fallen victim to the same situation.
