A Citizen’s Guide To Healthcare Rights
As a citizen, you know well your fundamental right to quality health care. The government is responsible for ensuring your well-being. Even if you subscribe to the idea that quality healthcare is an individual responsibility, it will come to a point where you need to fight against a form of medical malpractice. While medical malpractice comprises less than five percent of personal injury litigation in the United States, you still need to protect your interests and hold people and institutions liable. However, fighting for your claims from medical malpractice could be an uphill battle, but it’s the one you just can’t afford to lose. That said, make sure you fight for your rights to quality healthcare using this guide.
Know The Nature of The Malpractice
The first step you can take is to gather all the evidence you can use to prove that malpractice happened. Anything from diagnostic reports to receipts should be well-documented. In the case of negligence on the part of the hospital or doctor, make sure you gather testimonies from witnesses. Also, you need to establish that there existed a patient-doctor relationship, which is easily proven if the doctor had been treating you up until the incident of malpractice happened.
Know What Damages Were Incurred
Whether you’ve undergone cosmetic surgery or any other major medical procedure, injuries and conditions resulting from negligence and incompetence provide more weight or force to a personal injury lawsuit against a doctor or medical institution. As long as there is harm causing disability or economic losses, you’d find yourself in the right to sue for damages.
Know About The Statute of Limitations
While every state has its own laws governing medical malpractice or any case of personal injury, what’s certain is that common to all these different laws is a statute of limitations. Simply put, this statute prescribes the time frame for launching a medical practice lawsuit. This could range from one year to three years at best. Victims of malpractice are advised to learn about their respective states’ statutes, otherwise, they won’t be able to launch a case once the allotted time expires. Know How Much You’ll Be Claiming Another important consideration is to know how much you should be getting in terms of compensation for damages, legal fees, economic losses, as well as insurance claims. Settlements can range from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions in certain rare and high-profile cases.
Know The Right Legal Expert to Hire
When it comes to getting your rightful claim, you will need to overcome legal barriers designed to put you off. According to Sandoval James, doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies will fight tooth and nail to protect their bottom line, so make sure you get an attorney experienced enough to handle any complex medical malpractice case in your respective state. Getting the right lawyers, for instance, can help you navigate your way around complex state laws.Healthcare is a legal right and as such, you will have to assert it whenever you can and protect yourself from abusive practice by those tasked with taking care of you.
