Most people place a lot of trust in the doctors that attend to them. Doctors merit that faith on the whole. Yet it only takes one bad episode to rock your faith in the entire medical profession.
When a doctor makes a mistake, the results can be catastrophic. Yet, rather than lose faith in all doctors, you need to concentrate on taking issue with the one doctor responsible. Here is where a medical malpractice lawsuit may come in. This is what you would need to consider:
- Did they harm you?
Almost is not good enough here. You need to demonstrate the real consequences of their mistakes. For example, if a doctor almost operated on your right leg instead of your left, but you caught them before they did, you cannot claim. If, however, you woke up to find they had already amputated the wrong limb, then you have a clear example of the damage done.
- Are you sure “they” harmed you
You need to be able to trace a direct line from what the doctor did to the harm done. They may try to escape responsibility by blaming it on an issue with the drugs, with something someone else did later or a pre-existing condition you had.
- Did they stray from the norm?
One of the keystones of a medical malpractice lawsuit is showing that the doctor in question did something that most of their colleagues would not have done in the same situation. To show that, you will need to get testimonies from one or more suitably qualified and experienced medical professionals.
- Were they “your” doctor?
Finally, you need to prove the doctor you are seeking to take action against had a duty of care toward you. While this is usually obvious, occasionally, it can be harder to prove.
If you believe you have cause to claim medical malpractice, seek help to understand more.
