America’s healthcare system is expensive, often hard to navigate, and constantly touted as the world’s best. However, an estimated 250,000 people die every year due to medical malpractice. That’s a shockingly high number, so it’s important to know your options should you ever receive bad medical advice that puts your health at risk.
Get a second or third opinion
If you’re going through a major medical episode, it’s important to get more than one opinion. You can do this prior to suspecting bad advice or malpractice, but you should ALWAYS do it once you suspect the initial advice doesn’t fit your situation.
This may come with additional expenses, but your health should take priority over money. Your family can replace the money, but they can’t replace you. When getting a second or third opinion, it’s important to seek out the top doctors available to ensure the most expertise is applied to your needs.
Document everything
You should keep your health as priority number one, but you may eventually decide to file a lawsuit which means you’re going to need proof of everything. Your initial diagnosis along with all documentation of communications with that doctor and other health professionals you seek second or third opinions from is extremely important to your case.
This is also important because the additional doctors you work with will go over all previous medical records. It’s highly unlikely the doctor who gave you bad advice did so in bad faith, so the other doctors you work with are likely to find out why the first opinion was given to begin with.
Understand the difference between bad advice and malpractice
Before your case can turn to the courts, you’ll need to be sure your case rises to the level of a lawsuit. A doctor who does their job but gets a bad result likely won’t be enough in your case. Your documentation will need to prove the doctor failed to take the necessary steps in your treatment which could include failing to thoroughly examine or test you prior to diagnosis, discharging you before fully treating you, and refusing to treat or see you despite the presence of dangerous symptoms among other similar situations.
Your condition matters, as well. If your symptoms are truly untreatable or your condition changes throughout the course of treatment you may not have a case as these are circumstances doctors are not often held responsible for.
Pick the right attorney
Not every attorney has experience in medical malpractice cases. Our firm does. The earlier in the process you work with an attorney, the more evidence they will be able to assist you with. Contact John M. Totten, P.C. today and get your case started.
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