A former patient has the right to file a complaint. Still, the court may not allow further movement on the process that should end with a lawsuit. A court might block continuation of that process, if there is insufficient proof of negligence on the part of a physician or a medical professional.
What sort of acts by a doctor or other medial professional would qualify as negligence?
Failure to provide a patient with a diagnosis for an observed condition: That would qualify as negligence if information in published literature had offered useful guidance to any doctors that had patients with one or more of the observed symptoms. The physician would not need to provide the patient with an immediate diagnosis; he or she would be granted time for studying what was in the published literature.
Providing a patient with the wrong diagnosis: In that case, someone conducting a laboratory test could have made the error. Patients are harmed by the wrong test results, because the wrong information could cause needless worry.
Prescribing and carrying out an improper treatment procedure: That could be the result of an incorrect diagnosis, or a failure to conduct a thorough diagnostic procedure. It could also be a mistake made in the operating room, such as cutting into the wrong body part.
Failure to inform a patient about the risks associated with a certain procedure or medication: A doctor is supposed to review the risks when the patient has the chance to sign, or refuse to sign, the consent form. A doctor has the right to provide the patient with added information, in an effort to encourage a signing of the consent form, as per Personal Injury Lawyer in Milton.
What sort of damage awards could be granted to someone that has won a medical malpractice lawsuit?
Pain and suffering: Those awards offer compensation to victims that must endure physical pain, physical discomfort or psychological problems, as a result of their accident-linked injury.
Medical expenses plus lost time from work: Victims that have received a prescribed treatment must pay the provider of that same treatment. By the same token, a victim’s recovery could keep him or her from showing up at the workplace, and taking home a salary.
Punitive damages: A judge might award punitive damages to a victim that had become the target of an individual’s egregious behavior. Judges try to prevent a recurrence of such behavior by hitting the defendant with the need to pay punitive damages.
In some jurisdictions, the legal system has put a cap on the size of any award for pain and suffering. Yet doctors continue to complain about the high price that they must pay for possession of some form of malpractice insurance.