Outpatient Procedure Medical Malpractice
When you aren’t feeling well and need to have a medical procedure done, it’s understandable that you would put trust in your doctor. We rely on medical professionals to take care of us when we are sick or injured. But what happens if a doctor makes a mistake? Does that mean medical malpractice has occurred? Not all cases where a doctor commits an error constitutes as medical malpractice.
Furthermore, being informed of bad medical news also does not automatically mean your doctor has been negligent. The patient must have sustained injury and quantifiable damages in order to have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. If you recently had a procedure and any of the following applies, you may want to speak with a legal professional promptly:
Your Doctor Failed To Order Basic Tests
Depending on what your medical diagnosis is, your doctor is supposed to follow a protocol when treating you. This means ordering tests if they are required or needed, to gather more information about your condition. If you find out that your doctor had not ordered basic testing for you prior to the procedure and/or during the diagnosis process, then you may have a situation of medical malpractice.
Abscess or Infection Post Procedure
When having a medical procedure, you will have to sign a consent form that states you understand the risks of that treatment. Many patients think that by signing this consent form, they are waiving their rights to file a lawsuit if something goes wrong. However, patients may still be able to bring forward a lawsuit in the event that the doctor, nurse, or other medical staff member commits an error that results in injury. An abscess or infection that develops after the procedure may be a sign that medical malpractice has occurred, regardless of what the consent form implies.
Going Back to Hospital After Outpatient Procedure
Outpatient procedures are often simple in the scope of procedures that can be done. In most cases, patients can go in and out of the hospital or medical office within a couple hours. And, the risk of complications from such procedures is usually low. So if you had to return to the hospital after an outpatient procedure, it is possible that it could be a sign of medical malpractice.
If you aren’t sure whether medical malpractice has happened to you or a loved one, consider talking with a lawyer, such as a Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyer from Wieand Law Firm, LLC, as soon as possible.