You go to the hospital expecting to feel better, not worse. However, it is not rare for doctors to make mistakes that can worsen a patient’s condition. There are many mistakes that a doctor can make. Still, most of them can have serious, irreversible or long-lasting consequences for a patient, including death. As medical malpractice is severe, victims of this illegal practice have the right to seek compensation by filing a claim against the doctor whose negligence worsened their condition.
Common medical errors
According to researchers at John Hopkins Medicine, medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Medical malpractice cases are not rare, which is why you must know what constitutes this unlawful practice and how to act if this happens to you. There are many ways a doctor, nurse or hospital staff member can injure or worsen a patient’s condition. Some of the most common medical errors are:
- Improper blood transfusions
- Delayed diagnosis
- Incorrect diagnosis
- Failure to review the medical record
- Over and under treatment
- Surgical errors
- Wrong-site surgery
- Mix-ups with doses and medications
These medical errors are often associated with urgency and new procedures. Nonetheless, that does not mean that a person cannot hold the health care professional liable for their mistakes. Whatever the reason for the error was, a patient has the right to file a lawsuit against the doctor, nurse or hospital staff member that caused their prolonged suffering.
Medical malpractice in Alabama
If you were a victim of medical malpractice, you can recover damages from the doctor whose negligence hurt you. You must act as soon as you discover that the doctor’s negligence led to an injury, disease or worsening medical condition. In Alabama, you have two years from the date the provider committed the alleged medical malpractice to file a lawsuit. You can also do it later if you had no way to know about your condition, but no later than six months after the date of discovery.
For a medical malpractice claim to be valid, you’ll need to prove that the healthcare provider failed to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence as other health care providers. Additionally, you must prove that the doctor’s negligence led to your current medical condition and that you wouldn’t have those problems if another doctor had treated you. If you can prove to the court that the doctor was negligent, they’ll award you with a considerable amount of compensation.
Doing justice
You go to a doctor because you trust that they will help you recover and make you feel better, and if the contrary happens, you have the right to fight back. If a health care provider caused your injury, illness or condition, you can make them pay for their mistakes by filing a lawsuit against them. Besides, by filing a lawsuit, you can prevent someone else from going through the same in the future. Nobody deserves to be a victim of medical malpractice, and you have the right to fight back if this is your case.
