I always assumed that personal injury cases where pretty straight forward. After being in an accident, any financial losses that you suffered would be reimbursed by the liable party's insurance company. Unfortunately, things only work this way in a perfect world. In the real world, personal injury cases are extremely complex and getting the insurance company to pay a fair settlement requires the expertise of an experienced injury lawyer. Unfortunately, it took me several months to finally seek out the legal assistance I needed. As a result, I waited much longer than necessary to get the compensation I so desperately needed. During this time, I learned more about personal injury law than I ever thought I would. It is my hope that this blog will allow me to share that knowledge with you so that you can avoid making some of the same mistakes that I did.
Medical malpractice lawsuits arising out of surgical mistakes are nobody's cup of tea. Patients' healths are damaged, surgeons' (and hospitals') reputations are ruined, and insurance companies lose money. Everybody needs to play his or her part to prevent medical injuries. As a patient, you can do this by:
Be Proactive
The most important tip is to be proactive about your surgery. Don't just lie there and hope that, since the doctors know what is best for you, everything will turn out alright in the end. Doctors are human beings, and they can make mistakes. Being proactive entails:
Doing this will keep the doctors on their toes and hopefully avert any mistake. If you are too sick to do any of these things, then you should have a close friend or family member accompany and help you.
Make Sure Everybody Is On the Same Page
Another important tip is to ensure that everybody involved with the surgery is on the same page. This includes you (the patient), your surgeon, general physician, nurse and anybody else connected with the surgery. Doing this minimizes the chances of errors during the surgery. For example, there was a case on which a transplant patient received organs of the wrong blood type due to miscommunication. It may not be your "duty" to do this, but it is in your best interest to do it.
Choose Experienced Medical Centers
Surgeons (and indeed all medical practitioners) learn not only by studying, but also via experience. Therefore, more experienced surgeons are more likely to execute a flawless operation than new entrants into the field. Therefore, if you have a choice (for example if you aren't tied to a certain practice via insurance), choose a hospital or surgeon who has performed the same procedure numerous times in the past.
Provide All Medical Information
Lastly, it also helps to provide all the medical information ad health history before your surgery is scheduled or performed. Obviously, the same information should have been gathered earlier and entered in your chart. However, it doesn't hurt to do it again and ensure that every medical professional involved with your treatment has it.
Of course, you cannot rule out the possibility that something may happen despite all these precautions; sometimes things happen that are just beyond your control. A neglect or omission may still occur during the surgery and cause you injury. In case that happens, then you need to sit down with a medical malpractice attorney, like those at Marzella RJ & Associates, and see whether you have a valid claim or not.
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