Have you or someone you love been let down by a doctor you trusted?
There’s nothing quite like it. You visit a hospital or clinic hoping to feel better. You leave more hurt than when you came. What’s worse… It’s a lot more common than most will ever know.
The good news?
When a medical error devastates your life, you don’t have to feel helpless. There are legal remedies available to you. Knowing your options is the first step toward securing the malpractice settlement compensation to which you are entitled.
Let’s dig in.
What’s inside this guide:
- How Common Are Medical Errors, Really?
- What Counts As Medical Malpractice?
- Your Legal Options After A Medical Error
- How Malpractice Settlement Compensation Works
How Common Are Medical Errors, Really?
Most people think medical errors are rare. They’re not.
Wait. What? Stop. Hold on. They happen every day. Literally. Nationwide. To patients in hospitals and clinics everywhere. Johns Hopkins and Harvard conducted a study and found that an estimated 795,000 Americans are dying or becoming permanently disabled from diagnostic errors every year. Every. Single. Year.
Even scarier?
Errors such as these are now the leading cause of serious medical negligence in America. That’s right – they surpasses both surgery errors and medication errors combined. If your illness or injury was missed, delayed, or incorrectly diagnosed, an experienced misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis attorney can assess your situation and determine if you have a case for malpractice settlement money.
Stroke, sepsis, pneumonia and cancer are the most commonly misdiagnosed medical conditions. And when misdiagnosed, the consequences can be life altering.
What Counts As Medical Malpractice?
Here’s where a lot of people get confused.
Bad outcomes are not always malpractice. Sometimes doctors are human, and treatments fail despite everyone’s best intentions. That doesn’t necessarily mean the doctor did something wrong.
So what actually counts?
Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional breaches the “standard of care,” and you suffer harm as a result of that breach. The “standard of care” can be defined as the care that a similarly trained and reasonable doctor would have provided under the same circumstances.
To have a real case, four things generally need to be true:
- Duty: The provider owed you proper care as their patient.
- Breach: They failed to provide that proper care.
- Causation: That failure directly caused your injury.
- Damages: You suffered real harm because of it.
If all four boxes are ticked, you likely have a claim worth exploring.
Misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, surgical mistakes, medication errors, birth injuries and failure to warn are some of the most typical forms of malpractice. Any one of these errors can cause patients to suffer dire consequences they never agreed to.
Your Legal Options After A Medical Error
Okay, so you think a medical error harmed you. What now?
Here’s the thing. You have more choices than you realize. Let’s enumerate them.
File A Formal Complaint
Sometimes the first step is reporting the provider to the state medical board.
It won’t earn you money but it puts it in official writing. It also marks the provider so that future patients may be spared. This is where most people start before proceeding to larger action.
Negotiate A Settlement
This is how most malpractice cases actually end.
Rather than proceeding all the way to trial, the parties meet (typically through their attorneys) and agree to a settlement (payment). Settlements can be quicker, less stressful, and more confidential than a trial. You also have a known resolution rather than leaving it up to chance with a jury.
Here’s the thing though…
Insurance companies do NOT have your best interest in mind. They want to pay you the least amount of money. Let someone who knows what they’re doing fight for you. It makes a massive difference in your payout.
Take It To Trial
If a fair settlement can’t be reached, your case may go to court.
A trial will take much longer and will be emotionally exhausting. However, sometimes it’s the only way to obtain complete and fair compensation. A jury will hear the evidence, review testimony from medical experts and determine if malpractice happened and how much you deserve.
Only a small percentage ever get to this point. However knowing that it is there gives you bargaining power at settlement.
How Malpractice Settlement Compensation Works
Now for the part everyone wants to understand.
What can you recover if you have a successful claim? Damages in a malpractice settlement are meant to make you “whole” again. As much as money can. There are usually a few different categories.
Economic damages cover the hard costs you can add up:
- Past and future medical bills
- Lost wages from time off work
- Reduced earning ability if you can’t return to your job
- Rehabilitation and ongoing care costs
Non-economic damages cover the things that don’t come with a receipt:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Settlement amounts can vary greatly depending on the severity of damages suffered. They are also trending upward. The latest national figures revealed the average malpractice payout reached $463,000 per claim, boosted primarily by settlement amounts in death and catastrophically disabling cases.
But don’t wait around.
Each state has what is known as a “statute of limitations”. This is a firm deadline by which a malpractice claim must be filed. If the statute expires, you could forfeit your right to compensation entirely. That’s precisely why it’s critical to speak with an attorney soon after you suspect malpractice. Time erodes paper evidence, and witnesses’ memories.
Bringing It All Together
Medical error can turn your world upside down. You don’t have to just take it lying down though.
To quickly recap your path forward:
- Understand that medical errors are far more common than people think
- Learn whether your situation truly counts as malpractice
- Explore your options: complaints, settlements, or a trial
- Know what malpractice settlement compensation can cover
- Act quickly before the filing deadline runs out
The medical system let you down, but justice might just set you right. Speak with a qualified lawyer, learn your rights and take that first step towards your future. Your physical and financial well being may depend on it.
