While Illinois has seen a 32% decrease in medical malpractice cases over the last few years, it’s still prevalent to press matters for a lawsuit. In fact, hundreds of medical malpractice lawsuits are still filed every year.
Only about half of these cases make it to trial. Ninety-five percent of medical malpractice cases will settle outside of the courtroom. So, don’t get too discouraged. Even if your case doesn’t make it to trial, you still have the chance to settle outside of court.
Continue reading to learn if you are the victim of medical malpractice.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Doctors and other health care professionals take an oath to provide a proper standard of care to all patients. Medical malpractice comes into play when a health care professional fails to properly care for their patients due to negligence. The negligent party can be:
- Hospital or medical facility
- Doctor or doctors
- Hospital staff or medical staff
- Health care personnel
Medical malpractice can include errors in diagnosis and treatment. It can also include the management of a patient’s healthcare plan. Did they get the right treatment/procedure? Were they given the right medication? Were they discharged too soon?
It’s possible that the health care professional failed to run the right tests or recognize the symptoms causing a misdiagnosis. In some cases, a doctor’s disregard for a patient’s medical history can cause them to miss something crucial to an accurate diagnosis.
There are cases where the wrong surgery is performed or something goes wrong with the procedure. Maybe the medical procedure wasn’t even necessary to correct the problem the patient might be having. It’s possible that neglect led to poor aftercare leading to sepsis or infection.
In the most extreme cases, medical malpractice can lead to a patient’s death.
When Should You File?
The medical malpractice lawyers at Curcio Law Offices can help you determine whether you should file a medical malpractice lawsuit. It’s all about the evidence that you can gather to build your case.
To have a successful case, you need to be able to prove that some sort of negligence took place. The evidence needed in this case includes:
- Proof of a doctor/patient relationship
- Proof that the doctor’s negligent behavior caused your injuries
- Proof that the damage was extensive and life-altering
When you can prove all of these things, you have a medical malpractice lawsuit that needs to be taken care of. Your evidence will lead you directly to the individual or facility that caused your injuries as they need to be held accountable.
Having the right medical malpractice lawyer on your side will make a world of difference in the outcome of your case.
Don’t Hesitate!
Every state has a statute of limitations on when you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Make sure that you take action before the statute prevents you from voicing your issue. Your case could prevent the same thing from happening to anyone else.
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