It’s not something that you will want to be thinking about, but unfortunately, medical negligence does occur. This is what is know as medical malpractice. This is when a health care provider deviates form the recognised “standard care” in the treatment of a patient. By “standard of care”, this just means what a medical provider would or would not have done in the same or similar conditions.
This is basically how it is decided if the actions taken were negligent or not. Unfortunately, this sort of thing happens more often than people would like. So if you find that that you are a victim of medical negligence, then the first thing that you should do is hire a lawyer (such as this medical malpractice lawyer in OKC) to help you with your case. They can get all the details that are needed and help you get any compensation that you deserve.
How do You Determine if You are a Victim of Medical Negligence?
You might be wondering how a victim of medical negligence is determined. The simple way for a malpractice claim to exist, is if a provider’s negligence causes injury or damages to a patient. However, this does not mean that all outcomes that are negative are proof of medical negligence. For example, things like if the patient’s condition gets worse, or if it is untreatable – these examples likely won’t amount to a viable medical malpractice case.
On some occasions though, the health care provider might admit to a mistake and apologise straight away, this is an obvious sign of medical negligence. Now when this happens, you might be happy with an apology. But it can also provide an opportunity for a settlement to be reached, without the need for litigation. When this doesn’t happen and a mistake has been made, you can hire a lawyer who could increase the settlement value of your claim, meaning that you would actually get more money.
What Compensation Might You Receive?
You can’t know the exact amount of compensation that you might receive, as no two negligence cases are exactly the same. However, if you looked online then you will see that there are guidelines that you could make use of. Further to this, if you hire a lawyer then they should have a good idea of what your claim is worth, once you have given them all the details. Don’t expect to get the exact amount that they suggest though, you might get more, or you might get less.
It really depends on the severity of your case. You can be awarded anything from low thousands for things like minor complications (like a misdiagnosed fracture). But you could also receive thousands for complex cases (like serious birth injuries). If you hire a lawyer, then they should have a good idea of what the amount should be. However, they won’t be able to give you a definite answer until they know all the details of your case. So, make sure you don’t miss out anything important.
Is There a Time Limit?
Normally, you would have to make a claim within three years of the date of the allegedly negligent medical treatment. However, this will vary depending on where you live. The best thing that you can do is hire a lawyer as soon as you can to help you with your claim. This might not be when you were in the hospital though, you might note that something isn’t right afterwards. However, you should still get help as soon as you can.
If you don’t make a claim within the time limit, then any claim you do make is likely to be what is known as a “statute-barred”. This basically just means that you submitted your claim too late, and you are out of time. It doesn’t make much sense to wait either, as most lawyers will use a no win no fee policy, so you won’t be out of money anyway. You shouldn’t be ashamed or guilty of your claim either. If you have received negligent treatment for something, then you should make sure to go after the compensation that you deserve.
