Medical malpractice lawsuits are increasingly becoming a common feature in the medical field in recent times. This to majority of physicians is a nightmare because most of them, or any other medical practitioners, do not anticipate a situation in their medical career where they will be sued by the same patients they swear to assist in their admission to the medical fraternity.
However, despite this increased awareness of medical negligence by medical practitioners on the part of the public, there is strong evidence to suggest that most of the patients still remain uninformed on the finer details of malpractice lawsuits. It is therefore important that patients and the public in general be sensitized on a number of issues concerning medical malpractice lawsuit.
First, medical malpractice lawsuits are not only directed to physicians but to a broad range of medical practitioners that include; nurses, therapists, medical personnel, lab personnel, and any other medical professional, even including dentists.
Second, there is a limitation law in every state on the period within which a malpractice suit may be filed. This essentially means that if you fail to file your suit before the expiration of a stipulated period then you will be disallowed from pursuing your medical malpractice lawsuit.
Third, malpractice cases are normally costly. Normally, these high costs might be in form of retainers for medical expert that will be needed to prove the case, financial expert witnesses who will be needed to quantify the financial implications that might emanate from the medical malpractice, among other expensive requirements by the plaintiff.
Fourth, malpractice suits normally move at a slow pace in the justice system due to the complexity of majority of them, which also ought to be considered. The justice system is littered with people who file a lawsuit simply because their medical billing was wrong or something equally non-relevant, which is clearly not a case of malpractice.
Lastly, not all cases of malpractice end up with a remedy in favor of the patient, there must be an injury on the part of the plaintiff for the medical malpractice to be legally established. For a case that has documented merits, most cases are settled out of court so that the doctor or hospital can avoid the publicity that would inevitably be associated with a successful malpractice lawsuit, but most patients do not have the necessary level of documentation, or are unable to recreate it after the fact.
It is indeed possible to file a successful medical malpractice lawsuit but there are things you must do in preparation for such an event, where trying to recreate that documentation after the fact can be a daunting task.
However, despite this increased awareness of medical negligence by medical practitioners on the part of the public, there is strong evidence to suggest that most of the patients still remain uninformed on the finer details of malpractice lawsuits. It is therefore important that patients and the public in general be sensitized on a number of issues concerning medical malpractice lawsuit.
First, medical malpractice lawsuits are not only directed to physicians but to a broad range of medical practitioners that include; nurses, therapists, medical personnel, lab personnel, and any other medical professional, even including dentists.
Second, there is a limitation law in every state on the period within which a malpractice suit may be filed. This essentially means that if you fail to file your suit before the expiration of a stipulated period then you will be disallowed from pursuing your medical malpractice lawsuit.
Third, malpractice cases are normally costly. Normally, these high costs might be in form of retainers for medical expert that will be needed to prove the case, financial expert witnesses who will be needed to quantify the financial implications that might emanate from the medical malpractice, among other expensive requirements by the plaintiff.
Fourth, malpractice suits normally move at a slow pace in the justice system due to the complexity of majority of them, which also ought to be considered. The justice system is littered with people who file a lawsuit simply because their medical billing was wrong or something equally non-relevant, which is clearly not a case of malpractice.
Lastly, not all cases of malpractice end up with a remedy in favor of the patient, there must be an injury on the part of the plaintiff for the medical malpractice to be legally established. For a case that has documented merits, most cases are settled out of court so that the doctor or hospital can avoid the publicity that would inevitably be associated with a successful malpractice lawsuit, but most patients do not have the necessary level of documentation, or are unable to recreate it after the fact.
It is indeed possible to file a successful medical malpractice lawsuit but there are things you must do in preparation for such an event, where trying to recreate that documentation after the fact can be a daunting task.
