When you have to go to the hospital, your symptoms are usually much more severe than can be treated in a general practitioner’s office. You may be in need of ongoing treatment or you may even have a life-threatening emergency. Either way, when you go to the hospital, you are entrusting your life to the hands of the physicians and medical staff at the facility. You expect to leave there in better condition than when you arrived. Sometimes, that is not the case and your condition gets worse. When does poor treatment or worsening symptoms cross over into medical malpractice?
When to Sue
The following scenarios are situations where you may wish to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit. A medical malpractice lawyer can evaluate your case and determine what type of financial compensation you may be entitled to:
- You have a working relationship with a doctor and the doctor can be shown to be negligent.
- A hospital does not keep their employees up to date on training and something life-threatening happens as a result.
- A nurse refuses to follow a physician’s written orders.
- In a hospital, you are given the wrong medication or the incorrect dose.
- A surgical team member left an object in your body after surgery.
When Not to Sue
Not every case is a malpractice case. There are certain factors that will often result in a case being dismissed. These include the following:
- The doctor treated you skillfully and carefully, you just did not feel better within a short period of time. Everyone handles being ill differently and everybody reacts to medication and treatment differently. If the doctor examines you and gives you a dose of antibiotics for an infection, but it takes you two weeks to begin to feel better, the fault may not be with the physician. If they reacted the way that other competent doctors would also have reacted, the odds might not be in your favor for a medical malpractice suit.
- The hospital is well staffed and trained, yet someone you love passes away from traumatic injury. This is not always the hospital’s or the physician’s fault. If they did everything in their power and medically possible to assist in the situation, then, unfortunately, there may not be a case, as painful as the event may be. However, for situations such as these, it is worth having a medical malpractice lawyer look deeper into the situation about what actions were taken and if everything really was done correctly.
Contact a Personal Injury Law Firm for Help
If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence or recklessness of a medical provider, you may be entitled to financial compensation for the losses you have suffered because of that negligence. Do not delay in contacting an attorney, like a medical malpractice lawyer from Hayhurst Law PLLC, to find out what legal options you may have.