There are few things worse than not feeling your best. Luckily, a trip to the doctor can help remedy the injuries and ailments you’re enduring. However, when your condition worsens after a trip to the doctor, you may not know how to proceed. If a healthcare provider is responsible for the injuries you’ve suffered, you are likely eligible to pursue compensation for the damages you’ve endured. As such, understanding the steps you must take with the help of a Wesley Chapel, FL personal injury lawyer is essential. The following blog explores what you must know about these injuries and holding a negligent party liable for damages.
What Kind of Issues Can Arise During Treatment?
Though doctors are undoubtedly skilled and intelligent, several issues can arise while a patient is receiving treatment. Most commonly, diagnosis errors are to blame. Any time a doctor or healthcare provider makes a mistake when assessing and diagnosing a patient, it can constitute negligence. Common errors include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Delayed diagnosis
- Failure to run tests
- Incorrectly reading test data
- Incorrect diagnosis
Unfortunately, these errors can cause several issues. For example, you may find that this can cause unnecessary pain and suffering as you’ll receive treatment you do not need. Similarly, this can cause a patient’s condition to worsen as they are not getting the necessary care.
Aside from diagnosis errors, issues can arise when someone undergoes surgery. While there are always risks with an operation, these can increase when the providers performing the surgery are negligent. Issues can arise as the result of wrong-site surgery, unsterile tools, anesthetic errors and foreign objects left in the patient.
How Can a Healthcare Provider Be Held Liable?
If a medical professional is responsible for the damages you’ve suffered under their care, you will likely be able to pursue a lawsuit against them.
For a lawsuit against a doctor to be successful, you must prove four elements. These include a duty of care, dereliction, direct cause and damages. This essentially means that you must prove that you were a patient of the provider, they breached their duty of care, it caused direct harm and you suffered damages as a result.
These damages are often economic, such as medical expenses and lost income. However, you may also ensure non-economic damages, like a permanent disability or chronic pain. It is important to note that as of 2023, there is a $500,000 cap on non-economic medical damages. This cap is increased to $1 million if the healthcare provider caused death or a permanent vegetative state.
At the Law Offices of Matthew J. Jowanna, we understand how complex these situations can be. As such, we will work tirelessly to fight for the justice you deserve when you are injured by those you trust with your health and well-being.