Going up against big medical facilities and doctors can mean dealing with the powerful law firms hired by their insurers. If your efforts to alleviate a medical condition ended up making things worse because of a facility or practitioner, you may need to take certain actions to protect your rights to gain compensation. To find out how to get started, read on.
What Is Meant By Malpractice?
Most think they know what medical malpractice is and almost everyone has heard about extreme cases of doctors operating on the wrong body part or giving a patient the wrong medication. While those cases are bad enough, you don't have to have a case that dramatic to take action. Sometimes it's what the doctor fails to do rather than what they do that causes a patient harm. For example, if the doctor fails to properly diagnose you for a medical condition and harm comes to you as a result, you may be owed compensation.
Contact the Facility or Doctor
Depending on your injury, you might want to speak to them about your medical situation. Most places and doctors do not want to deal with a lawsuit and they also want to do the right thing. In some cases, you may have the issues addressed and be offered financial compensation as well. Be sure to consult with an attorney before you accept money or sign a document, however.
Getting An Attorney On Board
Medical malpractice is not practiced by all personal injury lawyers but all of them can refer you to an attorney once you contact them. Medical malpractice is a sub-specialty of personal injury law and the cases tend to be more complicated and take longer to be resolved. Act quickly and be patient with your attorney because powerful insurance lobbyists have placed many roadblocks in victims' way before they can be compensated.
The Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations
All personal injury situations must abide by a statute of limitations. That means you must take action by filing a lawsuit by a certain time or you are barred from doing so forever. The statute of limitations varies not only by the state but by the type of personal injury. In some states, you have as little as one year to take action. It should be mentioned that you must overcome other hurdles in some states before you are allowed to file. It's best to talk to a medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible – they won't let you run out of time.
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