Most people trust doctors with our health without question. Why shouldn’t you trust your doctor? They trained for years to become an expert in their field. However, doctors are only human, and they can sometimes make mistakes that can cost you your health or even your life. A medical malpractice lawyer can help you if one of these mistakes has occurred with your treatment.
When a doctor commits any mistake it can lead to unfortunate consequences. So once a doctor has committed any malpractice, you should not remain quiet. You should always take legal action against the doctor. To help you in the legal world, you should hire an experienced and reputable medical malpractice attorney. Read reviews and take feedback about the attorney before hiring. This article will help you to understand what are the 7 signs which will tell you that it’s a case of medical malpractice.
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Ask a Medical Malpractice Lawyer: 7 Signs of Medical Malpractice
1. Your Treatment Isn’t Working
When you’re diagnosed with a condition, your doctor will create a treatment plan of medications and procedures to help you heal. In most cases, you’ll find your condition improves and that you eventually recover from your ailment.
However, if you find yourself feeling worse simply not improving, then there may be something wrong. You may have received a misdiagnosis, or perhaps the treatment plan your doctor devised for you isn’t correct for your ailment. It would be a good idea to get a second opinion from a doctor at a different practice or hospital.
2. Your Treatment Seems Incorrect
You may not be a health expert, but certain things are apparent even to those with no experience in the medical field. For example, if you present to your doctor with mild back pain and they schedule several intensive surgeries before trying another treatment plan, then your doctor may have gotten something wrong.
On the other side of the coin, you may have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, but your doctor doesn’t seem to be treating it with much urgency. You may very well have a malpractice case on your hands, and consulting a lawyer working on cases of medical malpractice in Baltimore MD will help you determine whether or not you do.
3. Your Doctor Isn’t Taking the Proper Steps to Diagnose You
If you have symptoms and you don’t know what’s wrong with you, then your doctor will start by ordering basic lab tests. These can only tell doctors so much about your condition, so further testing is required based on the results of your lab tests. If your doctor fails to order these and instead writes you off as being healthy, then you need to push for more extensive testing.
On the other hand, if your doctor suddenly diagnoses you with an extremely serious illness based on basic labs alone, then it may be a misdiagnosis. This is especially true if you’ve been diagnosed with a condition that’s hard to diagnose. Further tests are required to determine whether or not the diagnosis is correct.
4. Your Second Opinion Differs
If you have been told that you have a serious condition, it is in your best interest to obtain a second opinion from a different physician. Even if you have complete faith in your physician, you should always make sure that you have a clear understanding of what is wrong with you before beginning any kind of treatment just in case.
If the second physician you see diagnoses you with something different, then one of these doctors is likely wrong. Seek a third opinion. The third doctor’s diagnosis will most likely match one of the diagnoses you’ve already received. The doctor who misdiagnosed you is the one you may have a malpractice claim against.
5. Your Medical Team Is Neglecting Your Needs
Patients spending days or weeks in a care facility have certain needs that their medical team of doctors, nurses, and other carers need to meet. These needs include things as:
- Receiving your medication on time
- Having regular meals and access to water at all times
- Getting help to get to the bathroom if you can’t be mobile by yourself
- Getting help to stay clean/keep your room clean
If your medical team isn’t meeting those needs, then you may have a claim for malpractice on your hands. This can be classed as medical negligence, and it’s especially common in understaffed hospitals and facilities.
6. Your Surgery Didn’t Work As Planned
Sometimes surgeries don’t work as planned, and this is normal. Your doctor will tell you if this is the case. But if you had surgery and feel worse after it, then you may be the victim of a surgical error or an undisclosed complication. Your doctor is supposed to tell you about any complications that occurred during surgery, and if they didn’t, then you may have a medical malpractice case on your hands.
You most certainly have a malpractice suit if your doctor admits they made a mistake during surgery Mistakes include them operating on the wrong body part, leaving something inside you, or damaging the surrounding organs.
7. Your Physician Never Followed up
Sometimes your healthcare provider will state that you require further testing to receive a diagnosis. They may tell you they’ll contact you to schedule an appointment. If they don’t contact you, or if they fail to order further tests after promising to do so, then you may have a claim on your hands. Contacting an attorney and moving ahead with legal action is what it demands in the further steps. If you have shown your trust to your doctor, the same responsibility goes to your doctor to take care of your medical condition and do all the necessary promised things.
Negligence and mistakes are the most common forms of medical malpractice. Always seek a second opinion if your treatment doesn’t seem to be working or if you’ve received a diagnosis you feel is incorrect. Contact an attorney as soon as you deem you may have a malpractice case on your hands; you deserve to receive compensation for what you’ve been through.