The personal injury law is an extensive legal stream that covers various types of accidents and cases. Beyond road accidents and workplace accidents, it applies to the cases of medical negligence too. Essentially, medical negligence refers to the cases when a patient suffers harm due to a medical practitioner failing to perform his or her duties well enough. These cases are far more complicated as compared with other injuries caused by accidents on road or at work. If you do face such a case, you can claim rightful compensation from the practitioner. Being aware is important, so we bring some important facts related to personal injury caused by medical negligence.
A doctor-patient relationship should be there
If you want to get compensation for medical negligence, the first thing that you will need to prove would be that a doctor-patient relationship actually existed with the practitioner you are suing. In simple words, it implies that you hired the professional to treat you and the professional agreed to be hired explicitly. Someone who just advised you casually during a social meeting, for instance, cannot be sued under the personal injury law.
The practitioner was negligent
Only the fact that you are unhappy with the treatment or its results does not make a ground for filing a personal injury claim. The practitioner must have been responsible for negligence with regard to your medical diagnosis and/or treatment. Unless you are able to prove that negligence has been there, you stand no chance of getting compensation under the personal injury law. Here, it is important to understand that the case will not be good enough if the doctor has been reasonably careful and skillful while giving you the treatment.
The practitioner’s negligence caused injury
Since medical negligence cases usually involve patients who were already sick or injured, they tend to be tricky when it comes to deciding whether the doctor has been negligent or not. The best approach, therefore, would be to hire a personal injury lawyer with expertise in medical negligence cases to prove the same on your behalf. The rule of thumb used for deciding is that the patient suffered from an injury directly due to the negligence of the practitioner. This is to be proved on the basis of the testimony of an independent medical expert.
The injury caused specific damages
Even once it is proved that a practitioner did not match the expected standards or quality of services while treating a patient, a claim cannot be initiated unless a patient suffers from any harm. The patient can only sue for specific damages such as physical suffering, mental trauma, missed diagnosis, extra medical bills and loss of earning capacity or employment due to the injury caused by medical negligence.
Considering these facts, it can be said that medical negligence cases are different and more complicated as compared to the typical personal injury cases. Therefore, you should definitely seek the services of an expert lawyer who is capable of handling the case and getting you the compensation you deserve.
