What Is Left To Do When A Medical Mistake Causes More Harm
Doctors are often wrongfully seen as miracle workers who can cure any disease or condition and repair the unrepairable. The idea that they could fail slips most people’s minds because their job is to diagnose and solve the patient’s problems. The reality is that they are humans and rely on more than their expertise to get their jobs done accordingly, leaving room for mistakes and uncertainties.
Sometimes, it only takes one wrong move or lack of one crucial piece of information to permanently impact a patient and leave them unable to get back on track. From a false diagnosis to inaccurate treatment, they can all cause prolonged suffering and enable you to sue the medical provider. In the United Kingdom, prescription errors were at fault for killing 29 patients and harming 6,000 other people.
Hopefully, you won’t deal with similar scenarios, but in case you or a loved one are victims of a doctor’s negligence or misdiagnosis, there are several things you should be ready to do.
What Is A Medical Error?
While millions of surgical procedures are carried out successfully, there are also cases when medical providers slip up. This brings about several consequences for the guilty party in order to help the victim reduce some of the damage suffered and smooth the path to recovery.
Generally, “medical error” encapsulates every unfavourable incident while a patient is cared for. Because the patient’s health is at stake and is left in the hands of someone else, the mistake can be as innocent as not being offered one single dose of medication or having the wrong doctor’s name in the graph. Some mishaps are brought to light before they can do serious harm, while others are so benign that they stay under the radar.
However, sometimes, the mistake leads to severe consequences, like receiving the wrong treatment or the procedure going wrong. These are known as “errors of commission,” as the doctor’s approach was not indicated. Additionally, there are errors of “omission,” which happen when the medical provider should have acted differently.
Seek Legal Help
If you ever experience similar medical negligence and are harmed as a consequence, you may be within your rights to claim compensation. Among the common occurrences of claims are medication errors, prescription errors, and other medical wrongdoings. For expert advice, an insight into the process, and an idea of how much compensation you may receive, reaching out to a layer is the best thing you can do.
Because medical negligence isn’t always correlated with medical mistakes, the case should emphasise that the responsible provider didn’t exercise the expertise, care, or skill expected from a practitioner in their position. It must be proven that the mistake led to more suffering, injury, and harm.
Probably among the first questions to pop into your mind when taking a similar approach is how much compensation you are entitled to. For a more accurate estimation, you can use an online compensation calculator that will give you an indication of the approximate amount you may receive depending on your type of injury and severity.
Manage Your Condition The Best Way Possible
Since you’ve grasped the concept of medical error and know how to approach such a hazard, you should also remember to pay close attention to your condition. Besides getting legal help and collecting evidence, you must maintain your health. Keep the following in mind as you’re working your way through recovery without putting the lawsuit or medical malpractice claim at risk:
Track your health.
Keeping a keen eye on your health is essential to ensure you’re not running any risks. For example, if you fear you’re unsafe, you should do several check-ups and seek ways to monitor your health at home. The best way to identify when something goes wrong is to keep tabs on your health.
Keep track of your visits.
Besides taking care of your symptoms, recording your visits and documenting your care in detail is also advisable. Keep track of more information on diagnosis, treatment, and medication, as well as the post-operative care, rehabilitation, and any difficulties experienced. This data can strengthen your case and work in your favour when it is taken to the court or jury, being substantial proof.
Understand the psychological impact you may encounter
Besides the sustained injury and prolonged or worsened health condition, the event can take a toll on a victim’s mental health. Depending on the gravity of the situation and the level you are affected, you can experience a psychological impact that may require counselling or strong determination to overcome.
In this regard, it’s important to note the most common ones so you can recognise them easily if you ever go through them. According to a study by Europepmc.org, the following are the most usual feelings and reactions experienced by the participants in the survey.
Frustration and anger.
Half the families and patients receiving poor medical treatment expressed intense frustration and anger. It is a normal reaction when your rights are taken away or someone else’s actions impact you negatively, and the person at fault doesn’t express regret.
Lost trust in the healthcare system.
The victims felt betrayed and started being sceptical about the healthcare system’s intentions, concern for their health, and ability to fix arising issues. Therefore, they lost their trust in healthcare, which for half of the patients translated into repulsion and refusal to use the hospital’s rooms again.
Self-blame.
Victims experienced self-guilt for not trusting their guts and the instincts that told them something was wrong and vocalising their concerns and opinions. If something doesn’t go as planned, stop and ask for more details, and be bold and speak up. And if you can’t avoid a misfortunate event, learn the lesson and take the matter into your own hands. After all, your and your loved one’s health is at stake.
