When you have to go the 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 nurse staff at the facility. You expect to leave there in better condition than 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 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 may not be in your favor for a medical malpractice suit.
- A hospital is well staffed and trained, yet someone you love passes away from traumatic injury. This is not always the hospital 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 looking deeper into the situation about what actions were taken and if everything really was done correctly.
When to Sue
The following situations are situations in which you may wish to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit:
- 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 incorrect dose.
- A surgical team member left an object in your body after surgery.
Of course, those are not the only reasons why you would need to sue for damages. There are a multitude of cases daily that result in a medical malpractice lawsuit. If you or a loved one has been treated by a physician or at a medical facility and you believe that mistakes were made resulting in the worsening of the condition or cause other harm, it is always worth reviewing with someone experienced in the legal field. If you would like to speak with a medical malpractice lawyer, contact a law firm today to set up a confidential case evaluation and find out what legal options you may have.
Source: medical malpractice lawyer Charlottesville, VA, MartinWren, P.C.