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Coping with severe health issues can be challenging in many ways: some patients have a hard time identifying the cause of their health problems and may feel their doctors aren’t taking their concerns seriously. Others might be diagnosed only after their illness has become more advanced and treatment is no longer as effective.
If you or a loved one have suffered from a serious health problem, you might be satisfied that your doctor or healthcare provider did everything they could to help. But what if you don’t believe that’s true?
Did your healthcare provider’s actions equal malpractice? Did they cause you permanent harm?
Speak With a Duluth Medical Malpractice Attorney Today
If these questions are troubling you, we recommend you speak with a medical malpractice attorney to learn more. Your initial consultation is free and completely confidential. We can review your case and help you determine if you experienced medical malpractice or if you simply had a bad outcome despite your doctor’s best efforts. If we find evidence of malpractice, we’ll answer your questions and explain the options for pursuing compensation.
What Else Should You Do if You Suspect Medical Malpractice?
There are several steps you can take to gather more information and protect your rights:
Ask for an Explanation Without Making Accusations
We understand that you might be outraged if you believe your doctor or another healthcare worker made a mistake that caused you serious repercussions. However, we’d advise you not to confront anyone at the hospital or doctor’s office about it.
Sometimes, hospital employees are concerned about a lawsuit and become defensive—in certain situations, they may even try to conceal evidence of what happened. Or, they might consult the healthcare facility’s legal team, who will probably start looking for ways to discredit you in case of a lawsuit.
Instead, you can ask your doctor to help you understand what caused your condition and if there is anything you can do to prevent a recurrence. If your physician believes you are only focused on your own behavior and ways to stay healthy, they will be less likely to take actions that could harm your case.
Get Copies of Your Medical Records
Your attorney will want to review your records and may need to go over them with a medical expert.
Sometimes, people tell us they don’t know what to say or how to explain why they need their records in a non-accusatory way. The truth is that doctors’ offices and healthcare facilities receive requests for patient records all the time for a wide variety of reasons.
It’s unlikely they will ask why you need them—especially if you’ve had severe health problems and may need to see other specialists. All you have to do is say you’d like a copy of your records and ask how to get them—some offices may mail you a copy, while others require you to pick up the records in person.
If your doctor has an online patient portal, you may also find that your records are already there.
Try to Put Together a Timeline of Your Illness or Health Crisis
In some situations, people who have had severe health complications remember little or nothing at all about what happened. You might have been unconscious, in severe pain, or under the influence of medication that affected your memory.
If a family member or loved one was with you at the hospital, you could ask what they recall, what your doctors said, when you were started on a new treatment, etc. It’s also helpful to make a list of potential witnesses, such as healthcare workers, friends who came to visit, etc.
You don’t need to contact these people, but it’s good to have their names written down in case we need to speak to them later.
What Are Some Potential Signs of Medical Malpractice?
There are some common indications that your doctor or healthcare facility might have been negligent in your care, but keep in mind that there could be other explanations for all of them. However, if you notice any of the following signs, it’s a good idea to discuss them with a medical malpractice attorney:
You Know That Your Symptoms Were Initially Misdiagnosed
It can be frustrating to realize that you spent weeks or months suffering before you received a correct diagnosis. Worse, you might have been given a treatment that either didn’t help or made your symptoms worse.
If you received a wrong diagnosis that cost you time or allowed your condition to worsen, please speak with a malpractice lawyer.
You Believe You Were Treated Without Your Informed Consent
Healthcare providers have an obligation to ensure they have informed consent before proceeding with any treatment or procedure, no matter how much the patient might need that treatment.
However, informed consent can be complicated because the paperwork the patient is asked to sign is often confusing and full of medical jargon. Not everyone reads the whole form, but even those who do often don’t fully understand what they’re signing due to the complex language, a lack of medical knowledge, or both.
For this reason, your doctor should explain at least the more serious potential complications of a treatment or procedure before beginning. They should also warn you if there is reason to believe you’re at higher risk of certain complications due to other conditions, medications, family history, or lifestyle factors.
Unexplained Symptoms That Continue For Weeks or Months After Surgery
Most people experience post-operative pain and possibly other symptoms, but these should go away as you heal.
Sometimes, however, the patient continues to experience severe pain or other issues. When this happens, you may follow up with your doctor—but what if they brush off your concerns?
They might give you a quick examination, find nothing wrong, and suggest that the pain will subside soon. In other situations, they may write off your issues as anxiety, stress, or even drug-seeking behavior.
Sadly, we’ve met patients who suffered for months or even years before finding out their symptoms were caused by a real problem—their doctor’s negligence. In some cases, the surgeon may have left an item like a surgical sponge or towel inside the patient, or they may have made another error that left the patient in debilitating pain.
If your doctor isn’t paying attention to your continued issues after surgery, it may be time to seek a second opinion.
Your Treatment Hasn’t Helped, and Your Doctor Doesn’t Care
Not every treatment works for every patient, but if your treatment hasn’t helped, your doctor should be interested in helping you explore other options.
If there simply aren’t any other treatments, that isn’t the healthcare provider’s fault. But, if your doctor keeps insisting that the treatment will work eventually or should be working, you may want to get a second opinion.
Another concern is when the doctor is insistent that a particular treatment—often a costly one—is the only option. In many cases, there are multiple treatment options for any given condition.
There may be reasons why other medications won’t work in your case, but your doctor should be able to explain them. If the doctor is vague or becomes angry when you ask about alternatives, you may want another opinion.
You Suffered Serious Complications in an Understaffed Medical Facility
Experiencing a severe complication doesn’t necessarily mean your healthcare provider is at fault, but patients are more likely to suffer poor outcomes when hospitals are understaffed. One study found that in facilities with high nurse-to-patient ratios, there was a 7 percent increase in risk of death for each additional patient assigned to a nurse.
No matter how diligent and attentive a healthcare worker is, at some point, they can’t adequately care for all their patients due to understaffing. If you noticed that your facility seemed seriously understaffed, if you rarely saw your doctor or nurse, or if you waited an unreasonable length of time when you needed assistance, it’s possible the facility was negligent.
Your Doctor Makes Minimal Efforts at Diagnosing Your Problem
In some circumstances, diagnosing a patient can be tricky due to atypical symptoms or multiple health issues that cause confusion, but your doctor should at least try to get to the bottom of your concerns.
When you’ve seen the physicians repeatedly, and they only ordered a few basic tests, they may not be taking your concerns seriously. If your symptoms are still a problem, you might want to consult another doctor.
On the other hand, if your doctor diagnosed a severe condition and recommended aggressive (and often expensive) treatment after only taking a simple blood test, you might also want a second opinion. Serious conditions are usually diagnosed with multiple tests to narrow the results from basic diagnostics like a blood count.
Do You Need a Medical Expert Affidavit for A Malpractice Claim?
Yes. In Georgia, a medical malpractice lawsuit must be filed with an affidavit from a medical expert who can describe at least one act of negligence or omission committed by the defendant (the healthcare provider or facility).
This medical expert should be qualified in the same field as the provider you are filing a claim against. Additionally, the expert should be able to show how the healthcare provider’s actions were not in line with the standard of care for the patient’s condition.
You don’t have to worry about finding a medical expert yourself. If we believe there is evidence of malpractice, we will locate an appropriate expert and ask them to evaluate your case.
How Can You Get Help From a Duluth Medical Malpractice Law Firm?
Please contact the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm for a free consultation about your case. We will review your records, answer your questions, and go over your options for seeking compensation.
If we take your case, there is no fee until we win or settle it, so you never have to worry about upfront costs.
Attorney Ali Awad founded the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm just a few years ago and has since transformed it into one of the fastest-growing personal injury law firms in the country. Mr. Awad and his team have more than twenty years of combined experience in personal injury law and have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for their clients.
In his spare time, Mr. Awad uses his social media platform to help more than a million followers learn more about legal topics. If you would like to work with his legal team, call 833-254-2923 today.