If you go to your doctor or have a medical procedure done, you expect to be safe in the care of trusted medical professionals. When medical negligence occurs, victims and their loved ones are usually busy trying to recover and recuperate. After so much stress, it is understandable that many do not even know which step they should take next. Some might not even realize what options are available to them or that negligence has occurred.
If you’ve been the victim of medical negligence, it is important that you seek legal help. Many victims of medical negligence end up with expensive medical bills and experience a lower quality of life due to the harm, both physically and financially, done to them. A medical negligence lawsuit can help victims win financial compensation to pay for any damages they have faced. A lawsuit also ensures that medical professionals are held accountable for their negligence. Medical negligence should never occur. Any medical professionals who cause additional harm to their patients needs to be held accountable to prevent it from happening again.
When to file a claim
Many people aren’t able to immediately file a claim after medical negligence occurs. Victims of medical negligence are often put through a lot of trauma that can cause physical and emotional pain. Because of this, it can be difficult to take legal action quickly. The amount of time you have to file for medical negligence depends on the state you live in. It’s often between six months and two years.
The statute of limitations, or total time you have, to file for medical negligence may also vary by state. In some states, you might have from the moment the event occurred to make a claim. After medical negligence occurs, the victim might not always realize a mistake has been made until they start having health complications, which can sometimes take years to start or significant time to realize. Because of this, many states give you a certain amount of time from when you became aware of the problem to make a claim.
Contact the medical professional involved
If you experience problems after receiving medical treatment, you might be wondering what happened and become confused. Without medical training, you might not understand the cause of any potential complications or if any injuries were the result of medical negligence. Those who are having only mild problems after getting medical help can usually contact the medical professionals who treated them. In some instances, they may be willing to help treat you at no cost to help reverse the problem. This can help victims get back in good health and avoid taking legal action when it is absolutely not warranted. However, if there are any signs of medical negligence or if you are not sure, please contact a medical negligence lawyer.
Contact the medical licensing board
When getting help from the medical professional isn’t an option, or when they are unwilling to help, victims can also contact the medical licensing board for whoever treated them. The licensing board can hold negligent medical professionals accountable and prevent this from happening to anyone else. They can also help give victims advice on what to do if they’re unable to do anything.
Contact a medical negligence lawyer
As soon as you realize you may have been the victim of medical negligence, you need to get in contact with a lawyer who specializes in medical negligence. Getting a medical negligence attorney with a good track record is the most important part of filing for medical negligence. It will be nearly impossible for you to get anywhere without the help of one of these trained professionals. From the start, they will be able to tell if you were the victim of medical negligence, which might be difficult for some victims and their families to determine on their own.
Legal help from attorneys is necessary most of the time when someone is planning on filing a lawsuit. In medical negligence cases, you not only need the help of your attorney from a legal aspect, but a medical one as well. This makes cases like this even more complex. Only a medical negligence lawyer truly has the resources that help prove medical negligence occurred. Medical professionals and other witnesses frequently need to be involved in cases to show whether or not medical negligence occurred. A medical negligence lawyer will understand what you need to be able to prove that you are the victim of medical negligence. Medical negligence cases also come with dense paperwork. This can be incredibly complex and isn’t something you should try to do on your own. Working with an attorney ensures that everything will be handled correctly.
Provide your medical records
In any medical negligence case, you’ll need to be able to provide your attorney with your medical records. Your medical records are some of the most important pieces of evidence in your case. Medical records allow everyone to have a better understanding of your health and how it’s been impacted due to medical negligence. As medical records are kept private, you also need to be sure that your attorneys are allowed to request any information they need. In many states, medical records are a required part of filing a claim.
If you suspect that your injury or your child’s injury may have been caused by medical negligence, please fill out the form below or contact us for more information.