If you’re injured because you received substandard care or your medical professional neglected you, you have grounds to sue them for medical negligence. Medical professionals are supposed to offer their best care to improve your condition. However, if you experience a minor health issue during your medical treatment, it doesn’t mean that you can start a malpractice lawsuit. Personal injury experts state that you need to prove the intent of the medical expert and the nature of the medical health problem to have cause for medical negligence malpractice.
What is medical negligence?
If we had to give a general definition of medical negligence, that would be an act of negligence or substandard care a healthcare professional, nurse, or doctor provides in a medical setting. In order to determine if you’re dealing with a case of medical malpractice, you need to establish if the healthcare professional provided the expected level of care they promised. Usually, medical negligence takes the form of a deliberate breach of a doctor-patient agreement or a preventable mistake that puts your life in danger.
What are the most common types of malpractice?
Medical negligence takes many forms, depending on the health issue you experience. For example, when you visit a doctor to diagnose your symptoms and misdiagnose you, it can be a form of medical malpractice. The healthcare professional failed to collect the information from you and therefore provided you with a delayed or ineffective treatment that caused further complications or triggered other medical issues.
Medical malpractice can also happen after treatment when the healthcare professional who should provide health management services fails to do it.
The exact nature of malpractice differs from one case to another, and it’s essential to reach a personal injury expert to evaluate your case and help you determine if you experienced a form of medical negligence. Compensation Calculator UK can confirm your right to claim compensation for medical negligence and help you estimate the cost of making a claim.
What do you need to prove you’re the victim of malpractice?
When you think your medical issue is the direct result of substandard medical care, there are a couple of things your personal injury lawyer can prove to make your case compelling in court.
– The healthcare professional has the legal duty and responsibility to care for patients
– The doctor’s substandard care of negligence triggered a health issue
– Your healthcare problem or injury is significant
To build a strong case, you need to prove the following aspects.
You had an established doctor-patient relationship
Once they are named the main official source of treatment for your problem, they have the duty to treat you with the best standards of medical care. To sue them for medical negligence, you need to prove that you had an established relationship with the healthcare professional who caused your medical problem. You may find it challenging to make a claim if you cannot prove when the relationship began and ended, especially if a lot of time passed before your treatment and new medical problem. A malpractice lawyer can determine if your case is strong enough to file a lawsuit, depending on the issue’s timeline.
The healthcare professional didn’t provide you with the required standard of care
After the personal injury lawyer establishes that they can prove there was a relationship between you and your physician, you need to show the doctor didn’t uphold their end of the deal. You must prove without a doubt that the healthcare professional caused you more harm than good through the treatment they provided. Usually, it would help if you had expert testimony to prove to the jury that the healthcare professional failed to offer the required standard of care. A personal injury lawyer would hire an expert from the medical field to provide supporting advice.
You experience a healthcare issue or injury
Only because you’re not happy with the diagnosis or course of treatment, it doesn’t mean that you can sue the medical expert for medical malpractice. You can file a claim when you experience one of the following situations:
– Lost earning capacity or wages
– Deformity or disfigurement
– Impairment or loss of mental or physical function
– Reduced chances of recovery
– Death
Your medical problem is the result of the treatment
You should prove that the medical issue you struggle with now is the direct result of your doctor’s care or lack of it. In most cases, it’s pretty challenging to prove it because the chances are that you were already sick when you sought their expertise. It’s difficult to show where one medical issue ends, and the other begins. Besides the expert’s testimony, you also need documentation and medical records to prove that the doctor’s lack of action or treatment caused your injury or medical problem.
Does a pre-existing medical condition affect a medical negligence lawsuit?
A pre-existing medical problem can affect your lawsuit. In a medical negligence case, all medical issues matter when neglectful or insufficient care and treatment affect them in a way that causes further issues. In this situation, you need to document the state of your medical problem before the doctor’s treatment and how it worsened after getting medical service.
What should you do when you suspect medical negligence?
Your health is your main priority when you deal with a medical malpractice case. If you think that your healthcare professional misdiagnosed or made an error in your treatment, find another doctor to correct their mistake. The second expert will probably review your medical history and perform tests to diagnose you before starting a new treatment. If you experience further medical damage from the first doctor, the second should also treat the complications.
Once you feel better, request copies of your medical records because they’re crucial in a medical negligence case. Your medical records should include the tests performed, medical history, and medications and treatments prescribed.
Because medical negligence cases are quite complex, hire an experienced lawyer to represent you during the lawsuit.
