Looking for legal protection against medical malpractice? Here are some important and useful tips you should definitely know about!
What is medical malpractice and how to protect yourself from it?
It is estimated by the Medical Malpractice Center that each year in the USA alone there are up to 20,000 reports and suits against doctors on the count of medical malpractice. This occurs when healthcare workers make a mistake during the treatment of a patient. There are different types of professional offenses that are considered medical malpractice and they include wrong diagnosis, medication dose, wrong treatment, management, birth injury, and so on. For more information on the types of injuries related to birth, make sure you Check.
Make sure you check-https://www.erlegal.com/practice-areas/medical-malpractice/birth-injuries/types-of-birth-injuries/
Where you will get a thorough insight into this kind of medical malpractice. On the other hand, medical malpractice also subsumes negligent behavior of a healthcare worker, omitting to take needed action, or otherwise impacting the treatment of a patient in a negative way. This treatment mishandling can sometimes even result in fatal consequences such as pain and suffering, causing harm and injury in general, losing a limb, or even death!
As a measure of prevention to this, there is medical malpractice law that regulates and recompenses the loss incurred as a consequence of medical mishandling. In this sense, you can legally protect yourself beforehand if you make sure you choose experienced and licensed practitioners, get medical malpractice insurance, and always consult your legal advisors on your rights. To learn more about each of these, check the rest of the list.
Choose experienced and licensed practitioners with expertise
Make sure you avoid bringing yourself in jeopardy by going to each doctor that you have been recommended to go to. Moreso, if the doctor or a health professional works outside the public hospital and delivers treatment at home or some private ordinations. Of course, this does not mean that every private practitioner is not good, but it simply means that you are on the safe side as long as you get treatment at official hospitals, or private hospitals with a good reputation and, of course, licensed healthcare professionals.
As long as you keep yourself within the boundaries of public and official healthcare institutions, you are more protected and likely to win in case of any lawsuit. Not only that, with licensed and highly-reputed professionals, you are more likely to get the best treatment and avoid any inconvenience.
Keep all your medical records with you
The Health Professions Council of South Africa gives a definition of the medical record as “any relevant record made by a health care practitioner at the time of, or subsequent to, a consultation and/or examination or the application of health management”. What is more, you should know that you are highly recommended to keep relevant medical records with you. No matter if the records are handwritten or printed, they are still relevant and you have to get the healthcare professionals acquainted with them. What is more, your medical records can also serve as your backup in case there was a wrong prescribed diagnosis or treatment. In this case, your medical records can prove the discrepancy between your condition and the prescribed medications, treatment, or diagnosis, and medical malpractice in general. For the reasons such as these, make sure you keep close track of all your records!
Make sure you get medical malpractice insurance
Malpractice insurance is one of the best ways to ensure you can get proper compensation and recovery in case of negligence or any other type of medical malpractice. So you can hire Tiernan Medical Negligence Solicitors Dublin for your rights. In sum, medical malpractice insurance is a certain type of professional liability insurance that protects you from and provides you with legal help in case you fall victim to any type of medical malpractice. The insurance should cover injuries, negligence, or any kind of harm that you experience while on treatment in a certain healthcare institution. Therefore, it will surely come in handy if you are somehow harmed as a patient.
Always consult your legal advisor when in doubt
If you are in any kind of doubt that you have been mistreated by a healthcare worker, ensure that you consult your legal advisor on what actions you can take and how. Likewise, you can consult your lawyer beforehand on what your rights are, how they are protected, and when they are violated.
Knowing your rights is the first step to protecting yourself from harm and injustice, so make sure you educate yourself on some important bits about your basic rights as a human and patient.
