Some people think that suing a doctor is an easy way to get justice. But it’s far from that, with many teams of lawyers and experts having to work together. There are a few major challenges involved in filing a lawsuit against a negligent doctor: determining who you have the legal right to sue, making the connection between your injury and the doctor’s negligence, gathering evidence against the negligent doctor, and winning your case in court. Let’s look at each of these in detail.
Determining Who You Have the Legal Right to Sue
The first hurdle most people face when suing a doctor is finding the correct patient. Numerous people have been injured by a doctor, including spouses and even children, who can’t sue the doctor because they don’t have a legal claim. If you are suing a doctor for an injury that occurred while performing surgery, then it becomes very easy to find the correct patient: your spouse.
If you are suing a doctor for results of medical or surgical treatment, then you will probably have to ask your doctor, the family doctor who treated you, the hospital where you were treated, and even the doctor who performed that procedure to see if there is a connection between your injury and their negligence. It may be easier to find a direct victim than someone who was involved in other ways but can’t sue.
Making the Connection Between Your Injury and the Doctor’s Negligence
Another big challenge involved in suing a doctor is proving that he or she was negligent. The doctor might claim that it was an accident, but in reality, there are very few accidents in the medical world. Most of the time, negligence is willful and intentional. However, the legal system requires that the doctor had a duty to you, and his negligence caused your injury.
If your doctor failed to advise you of something that would be necessary for your health, then it’s easy to make a connection between the doctor’s negligence and your injury. If someone is prescribing medication for hypertension, then he must inform his patients about side effects like increased heart rate or pinched nerves. Not informing them of these side effects can be deemed negligent.
Gathering Evidence Against the Doctor
If you are going to sue a doctor, you need to gather evidence of negligence. However, gathering evidence against a doctor is not an easy task. If you do not have the records of your visits to the doctor, it will be difficult for a lawyer to prove the doctor’s negligence. Even reputed law firms like Zayed Law Offices advise the plaintiff to maintain a proper record of their medical visits.
When a doctor passes along information to other practitioners, it becomes hard to prove that he was negligent. One of the most common ways to prove negligence is through his medical record and charts. If there isn’t any record of your condition in the doctor’s chart, then it could be hard to gather evidence that the doctor was negligent. You may have some success if you can gather evidence from outside sources like the hospital where you were treated or an employee who worked with the doctor.
Conclusion
Suing a doctor may prove difficult, and you need to be aware of your rights and limitations, but it is possible. It will take a team of experts to prove that the doctor was negligent, but with the right evidence, it’s possible to get money for your injuries. It’s best to work with a lawyer who has experience handling medical malpractice cases.
