What To Do If Your Feel You Doctor Made A Mistake
Posted on: 3 February 2020
No one likes to think that their doctor could make a mistake in a procedure or the treatment they are recommending for an ailment, but there are times when it happens. If you feel that something was done wrong or was not done when it should have been, you may have a case for medical malpractice, and getting the right lawyer to represent you is important.
Determining If You Have a Case
Before you file a suit for malpractice, you need to have some evidence that something was done improperly with your case. The first step should be to talk to a lawyer that specializes in medical malpractice cases to determine if there is a clear case or not. Your lawyer will evaluate the case and the records from your treatment to see what they can find.
Many times the lawyer will find something in the records or in your statement that is enough to make them ask questions and dig into the case further. If they determine that you have a case, they will let you know and move forward.
Civil Versus Criminal Malpractice
In a civil case, the lawyer is working to get you a settlement that is based on loss. If you can't work anymore or you have some other injury as a result of the care from a doctor or provider, the lawyer will try and set a monetary value to that loss and then present that to the court. Pain, loss of function, or the inability to live a normal day-to-day life all contribute to the settlement that the lawyer is seeking for you.
In criminal cases, the lawyer is not only trying to get you a settlement of some sort, but they are also seeking to have the doctor convicted of a crime. Often, criminal malpractice is filed if the doctor did something that was wrong and it looks as though they knew it when they did it.
Criminal malpractice can involve a doctor practicing while they are intoxicated, taking a risk with a patient that they know is risky, or making a mistake because they are not paying attention. The result is typically death or a disability that will last your entire life. The lawyer may file a criminal case to try and get the doctor's license or right to practice revoked and their certification removed.
Most criminal cases are filed by the district attorney, but they can be initiated by a civil attorney uncovering the wrongdoing and presenting it to the prosecutor. The doctor can face criminal charges and then face a civil suit as well in a situation that there is criminal malpractice.
To learn more, contact a medical malpractice lawyer.
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