Are you the victim of medical negligence? Recognise the signs

Doctors and healthcare specialists are humans, and they overlook things or make mistakes, especially if they’re exhausted from long shifts. However, their job is to promote their patients’ wellbeing. When you’re sick, a visit to the hospital or doctor’s office should put you on the road to recovery. Healthcare specialists are legally obligated to treat and care for you and do their best to improve your condition. If they fail to do it, it could be medical negligence.

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Medical malpractice occurs when the healthcare expert neglects to provide you with the proper treatment, omits to take the appropriate action, or gives a substandard treatment that causes further complication, injury, harm, or death. Usually, medical negligence involves a medical error that can be a wrong treatment, dosage, diagnosis, health management or aftercare.

Listen to your body when you visit a hospital or doctor because it tells you if something isn’t right. Healthcare specialists are trained experts that should keep you healthy and safe, but sometimes they make mistakes. Unfortunately, these mistakes have devastating results. It would be best to identify the red flags of medical negligence as soon as possible to minimise the chance of dealing with serious health problems.

Here is how to recognize the signs.

The treatment your doctor prescribed doesn’t improve your medical problem

Sometimes, when a treatment doesn’t improve your health state, the doctor may have misdiagnosed you. If this is the case, you’re predisposed to experience more health problems and even become sicker. If you were misdiagnosed, you are the victim of medical negligence because the doctor should be able to identify the issue that triggers your symptoms and don’t treat something you don’t have. Health conditions worsen with time, and as your health deteriorates because you don’t treat the symptoms, providing it with something it doesn’t need can make it worse. Sometimes the medication for a problem you don’t have can cause side effects because you expose your body to a drug it doesn’t need. Consult another healthcare professional to check if your diagnosis is correct, and they’ll evaluate your symptoms and determine if you received the right treatment.

The doctor doesn’t follow up with your concerns

When you see a doctor, you address them a series of questions and expose your concerns to consider them when they diagnose you. If they seemed rushed or didn’t follow up with your concerns, they don’t provide you with the medical attention you need. Healthcare experts should always provide you with adequate information and pay attention to what you say because it can pinpoint a condition. They must take your concerns seriously to diagnose you properly and prescribe the right treatment. When you’re not happy with the way, they treat you, visit another doctor to care for your health condition properly. Your priority is to deal with the health condition you struggle with, and as soon as you feel better, you can file a claim for medical negligence.

The treatment doesn’t match your health issue

One of the most popular reasons for malpractice lawsuits is the healthcare professional recommended a treatment the patient doesn’t need. Invasive procedures, tests, and surgery should be the last resort when a doctor tries to diagnose a patient. They shouldn’t recommend them before they try to figure out what triggers your symptoms using the classical methods. If you think your doctor has done more than required, check with another healthcare professional to get a second opinion. If you want to file a lawsuit, use a compensation calculator to estimate how much you can get for your damages. Keep in mind that multiple factors can influence the compensation figure, and you need to hire a solicitor to assess your claim and provide extra information.

You experienced a surgical error

Your doctor informed you about the risks associated with the surgery before performing it to know what to expect. However, many of these risks can be avoided if the medical team follows the right steps and handles the process properly. In case you deal with one of the following complications, you can file a lawsuit and ask for compensation.

  • You received the wrong surgery
  • You experienced injuries because the medical personnel didn’t carefully handle you on the surgical table
  • You deal with complications because the medical team didn’t properly sterilise the tools.

All these ref flags show medical malpractice, and you can hold the surgical team responsible.

You have new symptoms

It’s quite challenging to show that an untreated health problem causes the new symptoms, but you can work with a solicitor and build a medical negligence case if you feel like your doctor didn’t properly treat your condition. You shouldn’t experience new symptoms if the doctor correctly diagnoses your medical condition and prescribes the proper treatment. Usually, new symptoms are always the signs of a medical malpractice case or improper treatment. But you cannot claim that pain associated with some medical procedures is a new symptom because it’s often a side effect of surgeries and other similar treatments. Consult a doctor to find out if your new symptoms are the result of medical negligence or you’re dealing with another medical condition.

The anaesthetist made some mistakes

You were the victim of medical malpractice when the anaesthetist made mistakes like

  • Documentation errors
  • Dosing errors
  • Unintentional administration of medication
  • An improperly controlled IV flow rate

Anaesthesia mistakes are often the result of a lack of attention. The healthcare expert didn’t review your medical history, monitor your vitals, or use the right utensils.

You received a different second opinion

If another medical expert offered a different diagnosis for the same symptoms, you might be the victim of medical negligence. However, before you file a lawsuit, get a third opinion to find one if the doctor agrees with the first or second specialist. When they agree with the second, you can hire a solicitor to determine if you should file a claim for compensation.

Here are some of the most common red flags associated with medical negligence.

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