Should You See A Medical Malpractice Attorney?
It is a sad truth that not all medical problems come to a favorable end. If you or a loved one are not happy with the result of your medical treatment, you may blame the medical professionals who were involved. However, before hiring a malpractice attorney, there are a few things you need to understand. Here are the types of situations that can be cause for legal advice and help.
Standards of Care Issues
The medical profession recognizes certain standards to be the accepted way to treat and care for patients, diseases, and conditions. While a professional is given a bit of leeway in how things need to be done, any major deviation needs to be addressed and discussed entirely with the patient. If you find you were not completely informed of your treatment, you should contact a lawyer. Another standard of care issue involves having a medical professional ignore the symptoms, lab reports, or other diagnostic tools and decide to treat you in a manner that is not accepted for what the evidence shows.
Negligence
Negligence involves more than making a mistake. There needs to be a reason the mistake was made. If the professional took all the steps to diagnose a problem and then acted on them in the accepted manner, proving negligence can be difficult. However, if any step was missed, or a treatment was done improperly, you should probably talk with an attorney. However, it needs to be noted that there must be some type of injury or damage done due to the treatment for there to be negligence. It takes more than you being unsatisfied with the result. Even if the problem was not completely taken care of, if there was no further injury, there is no negligence.
Damages
Keep in mind that a medical malpractice lawsuit will be expensive. Not only will the lawyer need to be paid, there will be medical experts to find and pay, in addition to a lot of time lost from work for medical appointments and testimony. Consider the injuries you received due to the malpractice. Unless they are considerable and will have a long-term effect on your life, it might not be worth pressing charges.
It can be very difficult to determine whether you have a viable malpractice situation or not. Luckily, most attorneys offer free initial consultations. Contact a medical negligence attorney and make an appointment. They will let you know if you should proceed or not.