Going to the doctor can be intimidating—you’re at your most vulnerable, you’re not feeling well, and you’re putting your trust into the skills and knowledge of medical professionals. While most physicians and other healthcare workers treat their patients wonderfully and are careful in their diagnoses, others might be less vigilant. Our Austin, TX medical malpractice lawyer can help you determine if your doctor was negligent and hold them accountable.
Taking legal action can feel like a large endeavor after sustaining an injury from medical negligence, but you deserve to get justice for what happened to you. With the help of a med mal attorney from Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm, you can have peace of mind knowing we will support you every step of the way and fight for your rights.
You might not know if what happened to you falls under medical malpractice. Let’s take a look at the different instances of medical negligence that could lead to you filing a med mal claim.
Different Instances of Medical Malpractice
After going to the hospital or a doctor’s office to be treated, have surgery, or give birth, you could end up with further injuries that weren’t supposed to happen. This is likely considered med mal, and you could have a claim against the negligent healthcare worker.
It’s important to note that medical malpractice is not just being unhappy with the care that you receive. If a doctor did their best, was careful, and didn’t make any errors in your care, then you likely don’t have a med mal claim. You only have a legal claim when medical negligence was involved, and it left you harmed.
Here are some of the instances of medical negligence that could warrant a med mal claim:
- Misdiagnosis. When you have obvious signs of one ailment, and the doctor misdiagnoses you with another disease, this can cause you injuries because you receive treatment for the wrong diagnosis. It also delays your diagnosis for the correct disease or illness and can lead to it progressing.
- Missed Diagnosis. Similarly, sometimes doctors can miss a diagnosis completely. For instance, if you come in with chest pains and are clearly having a heart attack, but the doctor sends you home saying it’s heartburn, this would be a missed diagnosis. Similarly to misdiagnoses, this allows whatever is ailing you to get worse before it’s treated.
- Prescription Errors. Medications require careful prescribing, dosage, and administration. When a medical professional makes an error in any one of those fields, it can lead to serious and sometimes fatal effects on the patient. Additionally, if a patient is noted as being allergic to a certain medication or compound and the medication they’re prescribed contains one of their allergies, they could have a serious reaction from that negligence.
- Anesthesia Errors. Similar to medications, anesthesia requires extreme attention. When an anesthesiologist makes an error, a patient could wake up in the middle of surgery, have an allergic reaction, or be too heavily anesthetized.
- Surgical Errors. Surgeries are complicated, which leaves plenty of room for things to go wrong if a surgeon or a member of the surgical team is not careful. Operating on the wrong site, leaving tools in the body, and infections are all instances of negligence during surgery.
- Infections. The hospital and doctors’ offices are supposed to be sterile, but they can also be places where infection spreads like wildfire. If you contract an infection from going to see a medical professional, that could be the result of negligence on the hospital or medical facility’s behalf.
- Birth Injuries. Giving birth can be more complicated than you expect, especially when the doctors and nurses make mistakes that affect your health and the health of your baby. If a medical professional is negligent and causes a birth injury to you or your baby, then that’s likely grounds for a med mal claim.
If you don’t see what happened to you listed above, that doesn’t mean that you didn’t experience medical malpractice. You still very well could have been affected by an instance of medical negligence and could use the help of an attorney. Our Austin, TX medical malpractice attorney is here to answer your questions and help you determine whether or not you have a claim.
Proving Medical Negligence Occurred
When you meet with a med mal lawyer to discuss a potential claim, the first thing you’ll talk about is what happened and who was at fault. That way, we can begin working to prove that medical negligence was present and that you definitely endured medical malpractice. This will be essential to your claim.
There are certain elements that your attorney will have to prove in order to argue that negligence was present in your claim. They are:
- A doctor-patient relationship existed which held the medical professional to the standard of care.
- The doctor breached that standard of care through their negligence.
- The breach directly caused you to suffer injuries.
- Your injuries from the breach led directly to you incurring damages.
Your lawyer will ask for evidence so that they can prove this for you. Some forms of evidence that they may ask for are your relevant medical records, current and future medical bills, any lost wages you have from the injury, and any other costs that you have incurred from this incident of med mal. Once you gather all this documentation and bring it to them, they can start working on your case.
At Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm, we have ample experience representing victims of med mal. Our Austin, TX medical malpractice lawyer is prepared to fight for you and defend your rights against a negligent doctor, nurse, or other healthcare worker who harmed you.
You Can Count on Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm
After being injured from a medical professional, you’re likely left feeling vulnerable and not sure where to turn. You deserve to have peace of mind while you heal and get back on track, which is why you could use the help of an Austin, TX medical malpractice lawyer. At Buckingham Barrera Vega Law Firm, we understand how hard this time is, which is why we’ll be diligent with your claim and ensure you’re supported every step of the way.
You can count on our attorneys to defend your rights and hold the negligent parties accountable for their mistakes. You shouldn’t have to suffer more than you already have—let us fight for you. Reach out to our office today so we can schedule a free consultation where we discuss your legal options.
