When a Fairfield County resident’s health condition has worsened due to delayed treatment or a misdiagnosis because a healthcare provider was negligent, and failed to provide a reasonable standard of care under the given circumstance, the patient may be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor, hospital and any other negligent healthcare provider. The following tips may help those thinking about their next steps. However, it is important to keep in mind that the tips below are simply meant to provide basic information and are not a substitute for legal advice.
Healthcare providers have an ongoing duty to provide a reasonable standard of care. Despite their years of education and training, medical errors and mistakes happen, which may harm a patient. Before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, a patient may want to directly contact their doctor and hospital to have an honest conversation of what went wrong. In some cases, the doctor may be able to remedy the mistake or offer a corrective procedure for free or at reduced cost.
If working with the healthcare provider does not help, then the patient can contact the appropriate professional medical licensing board to report the doctor. Even though the board cannot compensate a patient who has suffered harm, they may look into the allegations and discipline the doctor.
If the steps above do not give one a sense of justice, then one may want to seek a medical assessment of one’s case. A medical assessment is a second opinion typically done by another doctor who can look at the medical records, lab information, and more to determine if the case has merit. Once the patient has consulted with another doctor, he or she may want to consider contacting a medical malpractice attorney for more information before the statute of limitations expires. Statute of limitations on medical malpractice cases vary from state to state, and it is important to check with a lawyer familiar with medical malpractice laws in CT.
Source: Findlaw.com, “First Steps in a Medical Malpractice Case,” accessed August 12, 2014
