WHAT IF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE HAS OCCURRED?

One of the main questions that our clients consult us as medical malpractice lawyers , are those that may arise after having received health care whose evolution or results have not been as expected, according to the information that the medical professionals had previously provided to us, It is to think that this action may have constituted medical malpractice because things have not been done in accordance with the protocols that guide the correct proceeding of the doctors.

It is true that the progress of medicine in the last century has gone from the almost exclusive relationship with the attending physician to a much more complex and structured relationship with teams of specialists who treat very specific ailments, something to which the rise of social policies and the welfare state.

In addition, patients nowadays have direct access at the click of numerous information about diseases and pathologies, which has determined that the blind confidence that was previously used in what the doctor said, nowadays is frequently questioned (The same goes for many other professions: lawyers, architects, etc.).

The above constitutes a double-edged sword:

On the one hand, it is positive because it allows information to expand and be accessible,

but on the other, it is still negative, since in many cases unreliable sources are consulted, or there is a risk that the patient will begin to self-diagnose and believe that he has the same knowledge and skills as the doctor, which is a serious error.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAWYER

Then, it is advisable to go to an office specializing in medical malpractice such as Hawaii medical malpractice to guide us about the procedure to follow and to obtain a medical-legal assessment of the viability of the case.

This means that the medical documentation will be sent to a medical expert who will review it and give his opinion as to the possibilities of success of the claim. Likewise, the lawyers will examine, from a legal point of view, the jurisprudence that may have fallen on similar matters and that serves as a guide to observe the arguments that lead the Court to estimate or dismiss the claim, as well as related aspects, for example. with statutes of limitation or legal and extrajudicial claims.

This step is one of the fundamentals because in many cases we find patients who are convinced that they have suffered medical malpractice, but it may happen that this is not the case or that their claim is not viable for several reasons, for example:

that the doctor adjusts his performance to what the protocols mark and the unfavorable result is not attributable to him;

that the examination of the medical record cannot prove negligence because it is not collected or deductible from other tests, the patient's word being against the doctor's;

that negligence might exist, but that the main cause of the damage caused is a different one;

that there has been some medical error or error, but that it falls within the usual and is not of the sufficient entity to speak of negligence;

that the action has been negligent, but has not caused damages or those caused by such a small entity that it is not economical to claim them in view of the costs involved in a negligence claim (lawyers, expert, prosecutor)

However, if the result of the feasibility analysis is positive, the claim for the damages caused may be initiated.