Medical malpractice and doctor errors serious subjects if you suspect something has gone wrong with your medical care. Take a moment to realize that not all doctor error can or should be considered medical malpractice, and what may appear to you to be an error may actually have been appropriate care that followed an accepted standard of care.
When is it Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is said to have occurred when there has a been a failure on the part of a medical professional (such as a doctor, nurse or technician) or a medical institution (such as a hospital) to provide the patient with care according to an accepted standard of practice and the patient was further injured or harmed by this failure.
Proving It
Severe deviation from the accepted standard of care or standard of practice is something that needs to be proved through the use of expert testimony from other medical professionals who have similar qualifications as the medical professional plaintiff. These experts will have to testify how other similarly qualified professionals would have treated the patient given the same set of symptoms and circumstances.
Patient Legal Options
So, if you think you have been the victim of doctor error that qualifies as medical malpractice, what are your options as a patient? Your first option is to seek a second medical opinion about your treatment and to focus on getting well. A close second should be contacting a medical malpractice attorney to discuss your concerns, and what you should do if they think you have a valid medical malpractice case.
Another option that you have is to discuss your concerns directly with your doctor. Most states have laws called a Patient Bill of Rights which gives you the right to ask for full information about your condition, treatment options, and prognosis. You are entitled to get your questions answered in an easy to understand manner.
If the doctor error you are concerned about happened in a hospital, an option to consider is to meet with the hospital's patient advocate to explain what happened and find out how to file a complaint to hospital administration.
You also have the right to file a formal complaint with your state's Board of Medicine against the medical professional or institution. Every state has slightly different rules, the Board of Medicine and/or your state's Department of Health website will give you information about how to file a complaint. Often you can do it on line yourself.
Talk to a Medical Malpractice Lawyer
It is essential to discuss any potential case of medical negligence with an experienced medical malpractice attorney. These cases are complex, and there is often many hundreds of thousands of dollars involved, so having expert legal advice is critical for a successful outcome.
