If you go to a healthcare provider for a consultation, medication, procedure, or follow-up, you expect healthcare professionals to follow protocol and give you the best care possible. But if something goes wrong, what happens next?
Medical care might fall short of standard expectations, medical providers might miss something, or an error can be made. Unfortunately, there are situations where the national standard of care isn’t met by medical professionals.
Going to a healthcare provider and suffering serious harm through medical malpractice can be a traumatic experience for everyone involved. Aside from the physical, mental, and emotional state it can leave an individual and their loved ones in, a medical slip-up can leave families in financial ruin.
A medical malpractice lawsuit may be the solution for those who have experienced or are supporting a loved one who has experienced medical negligence. Filing a lawsuit may help you secure fair compensation for medical damages as well as provide answers for why things happened the way they did.
However, before you file a lawsuit for medical malpractice, there are a few things you need to know.
Filing a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
Just because a medical error occurs doesn’t necessarily mean it amounts to medical malpractice. Medical malpractice refers to negligence by a health care provider that leads to substandard treatment or care and can result in bodily harm, injury, illness, and even death.
Before you can legitimately file a medical malpractice lawsuit, you need to tie up all loose ends and have the facts straight. Not sure if you have the grounds to file a medical malpractice lawsuit? Here are some things you need to consider.
Did Your Medical Provider Fail to Provide Standard Care?
The basic thought behind receiving medical care is that you will receive the standard of care upheld by the medical professional community.
Having a strong doctor-patient relationship means that you have that trust in your medical provider that they will follow through on whatever the medical situation may be and give you the best care possible while following standard medical protocol.
Your location should not matter as long as every medical professional provides the same care level. If your medical provider fails to provide you with a professional standard level of care, you may have a medical malpractice case.
What Was the Break in the Standard of Medical Care?
If you’re planning on filing a lawsuit for medical malpractice, you need to find the distinguishing point of a lack of medical care, a breach in the duty of care, or the error that was made at the time of medical care.
Your doctor owes you a duty of medical care. Medical malpractice is a breach in that duty of care, leading to a medical injury, misdiagnosis, or even death. You must first identify where the potential breach in the duty of care for your case occurred.
- Were you (or your loved one) misdiagnosed?
- Did your doctor fail to provide the proper follow-up treatment?
- Were you prescribed the incorrect medication?
- Did your procedure or treatment lead to further medical problems?
- Was a medical tool misused or left inside your body during a procedure?
If you can pinpoint where the medical negligence may have occurred, filing a medical malpractice lawsuit may be a solution.
What Was the Result of the Breach in the Duty of Care?
Suing for medical malpractice requires proof that serious medical damage occurred as a result of the breach of the duty of medical care. For example, if you had a procedure done that caused further medical problems (or even death), you would likely have a legitimate case for medical malpractice.
However, if the procedure doesn’t cause further medical problems and no signs of medical harm exist, you would not meet the necessary criteria for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Do You Have Solid Evidence?
Hospitals and other medical offices have strong backing from the medical community and their respective insurance companies. That means when someone files for medical malpractice against one of those entities or the medical professional associated with their case, the plaintiff bears the burden of proof.
Presenting sufficient evidence for your medical malpractice case means demonstrating everything that occurred from start to finish. You must be able to describe the medical situation going in, where the standard duty of care was breached, the results of that breach in the duty of care, and how the breach caused direct injury to you or your loved one.
Without this information laid out clearly, you have nothing for your case.
Successful medical malpractice lawsuits are founded on strong evidence. A medical malpractice lawyer may be able to assemble and assess the evidence available to you and therefore determine the likelihood of success in your specific case.
Turn to Attorney Steve Newman for Your Medical Malpractice Case
Licensed to practice law in state and federal courts in both New York and New Jersey, Attorney Steve Newman has represented clients in all 50 states for over three decades and is prepared to represent you in winning your case.
Practicing law in medical malpractice, personal injury, construction litigation, and more, Steve Newman utilizes an extensive network of board-certified physicians to analyze whether medical malpractice occurred.
Contact the Law Offices of Steve Newman today for an attorney committed to you and your claim.