Understanding Personal Injury Law

2 Things You Need To Know About Filing A Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

27 June 2016

Celina Nichols

Accidents and mistakes happen every day in the medical world. Although it would be great to think that every doctor is perfectly qualified to treat patients, human errors such as mistakes and accidents occur every day. This is why many people choose to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. If you have been wronged by a medical professional, you might be wondering if filing a lawsuit is right for you. In order to file a lawsuit, and win, you have to have a couple different things to make it legitimate. Here are some things you need to know.

1. The Medical Professional Must Have Been Irresponsible or Negligent When They Treated You

It is important to remember that doctors are just people. They make mistakes, they are susceptible to human error and they are not perfect. In addition, every person is so different that they cannot always predict how a patient will respond to a certain medication, procedure, or treatment. This is why it is important to show that the doctor didn't just make a mistake that could have been made by anyone--they actually had to be irresponsible or negligent in their treatment. If other doctors say they would have done the exact same thing in the given situation, you might not be able to file a lawsuit. This is because the doctor followed protocol and did everything they could to ensure your safety.

The problem comes when the doctor did something that was against protocol or was careless, or if they disregarded important information. If this is the case, you have really good grounds for a lawsuit.

2. There Had To Be Real Injuries That You Can Prove

In some cases, you will have treatment given to you that you are unhappy with. You might have felt that a doctor was rude, or that they were incompetent, but if you don't have any real injuries that you can prove the doctor caused, then you don't have a good case against them. For instance, if the doctor damaged your large intestine while doing a C-section, you would probably have grounds for a suit. But if you felt like the doctor was rude or difficult during a surgery, you may not be able to file a suit. If you don't have any injuries that you can prove from the doctor, you may likely not have a lawsuit.

By understanding these things, you can choose if filing a medical malpractice lawsuit is right for you. Contact a personal injury lawyer for additional help.

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