Losing a loved one due to wrongful death is an experience that brings so much pain to the family members left behind. If you or your loved one suspect of a case of medical malpractice, it’s crucial to know what to do next.
In this post, you’ll learn the actionable steps when you’re a victim of malpractice.
Find Another Doctor
If the issue hasn’t been resolved, you need to go to another healthcare facility or another doctor to correct any mistake, such as removing the foreign object, like scalpel, forceps, or gauze, inside your body. Make sure to gather all evidence like scan results, which will be presented when you’ll file a claim or lawsuit.
Seek Legal Help: Talk to a Malpractice Lawyer
In the United States, medical malpractice causes over 250,000 deaths every year, and the majority of these cases are complicated for patients to understand. One type of such cases is a diagnosis error (misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis) in which the doctor inaccurately diagnosed the condition of the patient based on the presenting signs and symptoms and the findings of laboratory or scan studies.
Surgical errors are also considered malpractice because they cause injury to the patient instead of recovery. Some examples of surgical errors include unnecessary surgery, a wrong surgical procedure performed, unintentional organ or tissue damage, and leaving surgical tools, like forceps, or any foreign object inside the patient’s body, which can severely affect a person’s quality of life.
Other cases of malpractice include labor or birth injuries, medical treatment errors, and negligence to follow-up or monitor the patient’s progress or response to treatment. If you or your loved one suspects that you have been a victim of medical malpractice, it’s important to seek legal help from an experienced malpractice lawyer. The best wrongful death attorneys at Adamson Ahdoot will help and guide you on the best actionable steps and legal options to keep your rights protected and seek the just compensation for you.
Here’s how a medical malpractice lawyer can help you:
- Gather all possible evidence to prove your claim.
- File a complaint and summons to let the court and the defendant know that you have a medical malpractice case.
- Bring the case in court if you’re not happy with the settlement offer.
Investigate: Write and Gather Everything
As compared to other types of personal injury cases such as car accidents, medical malpractice has a shorter statute of limitations or the amount of time you can file a lawsuit for a case. Once you have chosen the right medical malpractice lawyer, both of you should create strategic planning on how to take action quickly as to not exceed this.
First, you need to write all the details that you can remember when you were still hospitalized. Quote every work that the doctor verbally said, all procedures performed, if your consent was asked or not, and whether they were carefully explained to you or not, including the chronological events before you landed into a conclusion of medical malpractice and the behavior of the healthcare workers. If you still have your medical documents or any paperwork that shows your diagnosis or any procedure performed, hand them to your lawyer.
Here’s how a medical malpractice lawyer can help you gather evidence to prove your claim:
- Demand a copy of your patient record in the healthcare setting
- Interview possible witnesses like nurses or health aid and even other patients who probably saw the wrong procedures done
- Verify medical records and procedures with trusted third-party healthcare professionals for an expert explanation on how the doctor should have handled the case
Keep Your Silence: Don’t Talk Online or to the Hospital Admin
Never talk to the hospital admin or, in the worst case, send a letter demanding compensation and telling them that you’ll file a lawsuit if they don’t do so. Also, never post the details of the medical malpractice case on social media platforms, like Facebook.
These activities will only help the defendant get away with the case. You may also write words that can just incriminate yourself instead of helping your case. It’s best to let your medical malpractice lawyer handle filing complaint and summons by narrating everything you know to your lawyer.
Conclusion
Now more than ever, medical technology and procedures are becoming advanced, and non-medical professionals may remain clueless if a certain medical procedure is being performed correctly. However, if you suspect that you or your loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice, it’s important to find another doctor to correct the mistake for your health and safety and hire a medical malpractice lawyer to file a complaint and handle the legal aspects of your case.
