Being sick or injured can be a scary situation. Not does your body feel terrible, you may also worry about getting back to work or your ability to pay for your treatment.
When your medical team makes a mistake, it can make your circumstances worse. In addition to the symptoms that brought you to the doctor in the first place, you may have other painful symptoms that make your treatment longer or recovery impossible.
Here’s how to know if malpractice was the reason you suffered a bad medical outcome.
Not all medical problems are malpractice
Just because your illness is not treatable or you get more ill while you are in the hospital, does not mean someone on your medical team committed an error. Unfortunately, there is not always a person to blame for negative outcomes.
Some conditions get worse before a doctor can make a diagnosis or get test results back. Other conditions have no effective treatment. Still, other conditions may have a treatment, but it is not effective on all patients.
What are some signs that it might be malpractice?
If you think you have a medical malpractice claim, it is essential that you file it quickly. There are strict time limitations that could keep your claim from moving forward if you file too late.
Regardless of your outcome, consider whether there was any indication that you received substandard treatment. As you think about the care from your medical team, consider if any of the following apply:
- Delayed diagnosis
- Ignored symptoms
- Poor recordkeeping
- Lack of information about your condition and treatment
There are often complications when doctors provide medical care, but your medical team must still meet a standard for reasonable care.