Medical malpractice refers to the cases where the patients are injured or harmed due to wrong diagnosis, poor medical treatment or negligence by an otherwise competent medical service provider including doctors, nurses, medical workers or technicians. Medical practice lawsuits are filed by the victimized patients or their near and dear ones. The measure of ‘negligence’ or ‘poor treatment’ is decided after being compared to if the patient would have received better or standard quality of treatment under the similar circumstances.
It is true all healthcare professionals want to ensure the highest standard of treatment and care for the patients. However, sometimes things go wrong. If you or someone close to you has experienced negligence, poor medical treatment, misdiagnosis or breach of confidentiality between doctor and patient, which caused any injury or harm, you are entitled to file a lawsuit against the suspected wrongdoer.
The medical malpractice cases are filed to recover compensation and seek punishment for the at-fault medical professional. Many such cases are resolved outside the court following negotiation between the two parties.
The basic steps to file a medical malpractice lawsuit are as follows;
Contact Your Medical Professional
Even before you file the claim, it is important to contact the person involved in your treatment. It should be done to understand what actually went wrong and if there is any chance of recovery. In most cases, the medical professionals happily agree to perform additional service to rectify the mistake or at least provide a solution. What is more, they often do it without any additional charge.
Contact the Medical Licensing Board
If the medical professional is reluctant to offer help, you should contact the licensing board governing the medical licenses. The licensing board is not authorized to order the professional for compensating the injured patient. However, they are entitled to issue discipline or warnings to the medical practitioner involved and can tell you about the next steps to be taken.
Know How Much Time It Will Take to File a Claim
Like other civil claims, medical malpractice cases also have time limits for filing the claim. These limits, also referred to as “statutes of limitations”, require the victim to file his/her claim within a particular time period since the injury was sustained. You should check with the laws in your state to find out the time limit and make sure to file the claim before the deadline.
Consult a Doctor for Medical Assessment of Your Injury
The patients in many states of the country are required to file a “certificate of merit” to establish that the injury sustained actually ensued due to negligence of the medical professional. For that purpose, it is must to contact an expert (surely a physician) to assess your medical records and assert that the medical professional deviated from the standard medical practices and it caused the injury. The Miami medical malpractice attorney will file the “certificate of merit” that confirms you had talks with a medical expert and that action has merit.
If Possible, Go with Out-of-Court Settlement
Medical malpractice cases are time-consuming and expensive. That is why, out-of-the-court settlement sounds a better option than heading towards trial. Moreover, most medical malpractice companies refuse such claims outright. Therefore, it makes sense if you consider settlement out of the court. If your attorney is convinced that your case is a strong one, he will insist on seeking a large amount of settlement.