Getting A Little Help

Just because a medical practitioner was negligent when treating you doesn't mean that you have a medical malpractice case. There are things that the court must look at to determine how strong your case is. In fact, there are situations where it may decide that your case lacks merit. Here are three examples of such cases:

Your Injury Is Acceptable Risk of the Procedure

Medicine is an imprecise field, and most procedures have risks that patients must accept before getting treatment. Therefore, it's possible that your injuries weren't caused by negligence but were an acceptable risk of the procedure. For example, surgery to correct myopia (shortsightedness) may result in difficulties with night vision; you should know this while preparing for the surgery. You may not have a strong case if the medical provider followed the standard treatment procedure, explained the risk to you, and you agreed to undergo the treatment.

You Named the Wrong Defendant

Even if somebody's negligence led to your injuries, your case might still be dismissed if you name the wrong persons in your claim. This is one of the reasons it's best to consult with a medical malpractice attorney before submitting your demand letter. The lawyer will listen to your story, evaluate it and identify the parties responsible for your injuries. For example, if first responders to an accident scene are negligent and cause you injuries, it would be wrong to name the ER doctors as defendants if the latter did everything right.  

The Negligence Doesn't Change the Prognosis

Just because a doctor was negligent when treating you doesn't mean that you suffered further injuries, or your existing ones were intensified. Many people who visit the hospital, especially for complicated medical procedures, are already seriously ill. If you are extremely sick, then your doctor may make a wrong move that doesn't change the eventual outcome of your medical condition.

Consider a case where an oncologist (who specializes in cancer treatment) diagnoses you with cancer and explains that it has spread to several vital organs and is incurable. Suppose that months after the diagnosis, you change doctors, and the new one discovers that there is one more organ that is infected, but the previous doctor did not mention it to you. In this case, your medical malpractice case may be weakened by the fact that the knowledge would not have changed the prognosis. This is because the law only considers it a malpractice if the negligence caused you some injury.

For assistance, talk to a professional like Story Law Office.