Medical malpractice can happen when a medical professional offers a patient substandard care. This can result in injury or death. When we visit the doctor, we are under the assumption that our health is likely to get better, not worse. Unwanted medical news or unfortunate diagnosis does not automatically mean that malpractice has occurred. If a doctor had made a mistake or was negligent, which led to the patient’s harm or death, then there may be grounds for a lawsuit.
The most common signs of medical malpractice include problems with your medical treatment that were not properly explained, sudden changes in your health after treatment, injuries that happened due to surgery or another procedure, failing to obtain informed consent prior to a treatment, or other medical error that caused serious injury or fatality. It is common to have some changes before or after a procedure, however, if these adverse effects last for weeks or months, then it could point to a more severe issue. Warning signs to watch out for include:
- Changes in cognitive ability or mental health
- Unexplained weight gain or loss
- Sudden chronic pain onset
- New or worsening symptoms
- Loss of function or mobility
Doctors may assume that a patient is aware of potential side effects from their treatment. But regardless, a doctor must be transparent and inform a patient anyway, as it is their duty to do so. A patient who doesn’t have all the information they need may make medical choices for themselves that they would not have otherwise done. As a medical malpractice lawyer patients trust from Disparti Law Group can attest, problems that a patient should look out for include:
- Not being told about all the available treatment options
- Not being told about the side effects and risks of a procedure
- Not obtaining informed consent before undergoing a procedure
- Not receiving sufficient post-treatment care instructions
Typically, when a doctor concludes a diagnosis, it can bring a sense of relief to the patient because then they can become aware of possible resolutions to make them feel better. But if a doctor misdiagnoses, or fails to diagnose within a reasonable timeframe, this can suggest medical malpractice. A doctor may make a mistake by failing to order appropriate tests, failing to recognize symptoms associated with a condition, and failing to interpret the test results correctly or at all.
It is advised that anyone who thinks their doctor committed medical malpractice get treatment from another doctor. Until the situation can be figured out by your legal team, like a lawyer at Disparti Law Group, you may want to pause care from the first physician and get the correct care you need from another. You may even need to get a second opinion from a doctor at another facility entirely. It may be best to not notify the first doctor or the facility about your medical malpractice concerns. Doing so may motivate the responsible parties into hiding certain information or otherwise manipulating evidence (or destroying it), so that they can avoid liability.