Getting a second opinion or assessment from the right type of medical specialist is the first step in seeking compensation for a medical mistake.
The hard truth of modern medicine (and doctors) is that healthcare and providers are not perfect. Even if a doctor does everything right, patients can still experience negative medical outcomes. And not every wrong call or missed diagnosis necessarily rises to the level of medical malpractice.
What Makes Medical Malpractice Different From Other Personal Injury Claims?
Medical malpractice is a particularly complicated aspect of personal injury law.
There are a variety of car accident and slip and fall cases where a personal injury lawyer can, with surprisingly little effort, help you negotiate a much better claim payment than you would receive on your own. Medical malpractice is often much more involved and tougher to prove and litigate. A lawyer needs to consult with appropriate medical professionals to clearly ascertain what happened and define how the doctor’s failure falls short of their established duty of care.
Hospitals, doctors and other medical professionals are protected by large liability policies provided by companies with armies of claim defense lawyers. Taking these well-funded interests on in a claim fight is time consuming and labor intensive.
If you call a lawyer about a suspected medical error, they will likely hear you out, but the attorney may also want you to consult with at least one medical specialist first so they can have some assurance before advising you on next steps.
Some patients find it difficult to find malpractice representation willing to take their case on, even when they do have a valid claim. This is in part because there are so many elements the injured patient or surviving family member must prove in order to have a valid claim.
The Elements of a Medical Malpractice Claim
The doctor owed you a duty of care. This is usually the most straightforward element to prove since duty of care owed tends to be broad. Any type of medical professional providing care to you in a formal setting, whether they’re a dentist, primary care physician, surgeon, anesthesiologist, oncologist or even a pharmacist, owes you a duty of care. If you’re in a hospital for treatment, the hospital and all its attending employees are covered by this duty – even if they’re not your primary physician or caregiver.
Breach of duty is the harder element to prove, in part because Texas law has established a particularly high bar for establishing the provider’s care did not meet the accepted standard. Doctors and all types of medical professionals do have a higher standard of care than people in other professions, but they’re not expected to be omnipotent.
For example, a patient with lung cancer might exhibit symptoms similar to bronchitis. A patient with certain risk factors for bronchitis might get that diagnosis instead of receiving additional diagnostic testing to rule out lung cancer. Even if they made the wrong call, it might not be considered a breach of duty.
Breach of duty in medical malpractice hinges on whether a properly trained and responsible doctor practicing in the same field would have (or might have) run the same tests or prescribed the same treatment. Even in a scenario like a late cancer diagnosis, it might not be immediately clear there was an actionable breach of duty.
In addition to duty of care, there’s also causation and damages. Plaintiffs must prove the breach led directly to their injuries and that those injuries resulted in damages. Damages in medical malpractice claims are not dissimilar from damages in any other type of personal injury case. They often include medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering. A doctor’s mistake is not necessarily actionable if you can’t prove you incurred significant additional expenses directly as a result of that breach of care.
When Should You Call a Houston Medical Malpractice Lawyer?
If you suspect you have suffered an injury of any kind due to medical malpractice, or you’ve lost a loved one due to the incompetent or improper behavior of a medical professional, consult with a qualified medical specialist as soon as possible for a second opinion. Depending on their assessment of your experience, it may be in your best interest to speak with a malpractice lawyer.
Medical malpractice is generally not the type of claim the average filer can easily handle on their own. These cases can be complicated, time intensive and require methodical, detail-oriented investigation and filings. The team at the Weycer Law Firm is always ready to assist. Call us at (713) 668-4545 for a free case evaluation.