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.
A medical malpractice lawsuit can cost you a lot of money and damage your reputation. Therefore, it is imperative to know how to react should such a claim be labeled against your practice. Here are a few tips on that you should do:
Inform the Risk Manager
The first thing you should do when a complaint is made is to contact your risk manager if you have one. The manager will liaise with your medical malpractice insurance carrier and know the way forward. If you don't have such a person in your practice, then you should just contact the carrier directly.
Investigate
Human nature being what it is, you should expect some fraudulent claims to be lodged against your practice. Note that a claim will cost you a lot of resources whether it is true or false. Therefore, it is advisable to investigate all complaints before taking any action. Apart from determining the validity of the claims, you should also talk to the complainant; understand his or her views on the situation, and what he or she expects to get out of it.
Treat the Concern Seriously
If a patient has a genuine complaint, then you should treat it very seriously. Understand what happened, why it happened and who was responsible for the malpractice. This will help you to prevent a repeat occurrence in the future. It may also help you should the case proceed to trial. Even if you lose, the punitive damages may be less severe if you have dealt with the causes of the malpractice.
Remain Objective
It may be difficult to remain objective during the review, but that is exactly what you need to do. It is a good idea to not to involve the person that the complaint is against in the review; let other people handle it. In fact, it is best if you have a system in place for these types of situations.
Be Honest
Even if you can pull it off, you should resist the temptation to manipulate any records. For one, it is unethical. Second, there is always a chance that you may come against a determined plaintiff, lawyer and private investigator who may unearth your ploy. Such a thing can ruin your credibility when the case goes to trial, and it may completely ruin your defense.
After the legal process starts, you should do your best to follow your attorney's advice. You may be an excellent professional in your field, but the lawyer knows how to defend you best. For more information, contact Burke Schultz Harman & Jenkinson Attorneys at Law or a similar firm.
Share