Medical Malpractice And How To Deal With It As A Patient

Doctors are human and at times do make mistakes or do not do things by protocol. This can leave a patient injured for life or dead in the most serious of circumstances. Doctors pay out a healthy amount of money on a monthly basis for malpractice insurance as mistakes that have severe impacts do happen. Surgeons as well as anesthesiologists pay a large amount of money for this insurance as these are high risk roles.

As a patient it can be easy to shrug off a mistake as a doctor knows more about their specialty than you do. This does not mean that you should not talk to a legal professional though as mistakes could have been made leading to a botched surgery or accidental death due to mixing up medications. Below will delve into what a patient needs to do if they believe that they have been a victim of medical malpractice. 

Gather All Paperwork From The Hospital Upon Discharge

The last thing that any hospital wants is a malpractice lawsuit so paperwork tends to go missing if you seem very upset with how a procedure went or your standard of care. Do this as calmly as possible upon discharge as whisperings of lawsuits can lead paperwork to be changed as well. You want everything to be documented and editing of medical files after the fact will be quite an easy case to win if the hospital/medical staff decides to take the immoral route. The paperwork that you should also gather is that of physical therapy appointments as well any other expenses incurred due to the malpractice. Lost wages need to be documented as well as you have been left unable to work full-time or at all. 

Contact An Attorney That Deals With These Types Of Cases

Contacting an attorney that not only is experienced in your area but also deal with these types of cases should be easy. The last thing you want is a firm that always settles as this can lead an insurance company to lowball a settlement offer from the start. The Injury Lawyer San Antonio is a great example of a firm that will handle a case and will demand a fair settlement then fight at trial if it is rejected. Take the time to ask the firm for other case results as many firms have these on their website or on hand for clients. Refusal to show you previous case results that are similar to yours should be a red flag as firms are proud of large settlements that they won for clients. 

Do Not Talk To Anyone About Your Case

Much like any other lawsuit it is important not to talk to anyone about your case. The medical community sticks together so avoid even discussing it with the friendly nurse at your primary care physician. Do not talk about this with your doctor either as you never know what doctors went to med school or undergrad with another doctor in the area. There is also a great chance that the insurance company is monitoring you so make sure that if you are injured you are not participating in any activities that could be seen as a risk. A person with a injury to their back lifting furniture might hurt them later but all an insurance investigator needs is one picture showing it being lifted. Even if you drop this then wince in pain attempting this with photograph evidence can be enough to have a case thrown out of court. 

Being a victim of medical malpractice can be an extremely tough period of your life. Use the above tips to allow you to win a case to allow you to receive fair compensation for your pain and suffering.