People sometimes hold doctors to an incredibly high standard. They expect them to be able to diagnose and cure every ailment. If they go in to the doctor for medical assistance, these may be the results they are anticipating. Any poor outcome that falls short of those expected results could make some patients think that they may be the victims of medical malpractice.
The reality is that poor outcomes do not always signify malpractice. They could certainly be evidence that malpractice has occurred, but they are not enough on their own. Many patients get treatment that doesn’t work. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the doctor made a mistake or provided substandard care. It just means the treatment isn’t 100% successful.
The element of negligence
The thing to remember is that you can expect a certain standard of care when you go to the doctor. This is something that all people should be able to expect, and doctors should strive to uphold it. In some cases, doctors are negligent and they provide substandard care. This means that people do not actually get the level of care that they deserved, based on legal and professional standards. This failure can lead to a poor outcome, which is when these individuals may consider a medical malpractice case.
But the crucial distinction here is that the negligence itself is what led to that poor outcome. Maybe the doctor got confused and provided the wrong type of treatment. Maybe they mixed up different patient records, so they gave someone medication that was meant for another person. Maybe the doctor was struggling with substance abuse issues and was not in a sound state of mind when meeting with the patient. Substandard can happen for many different reasons. It’s important to know how to create this link of cause-and-effect to show that someone’s poor outcome stemmed from an unacceptable level of care before moving forward with a malpractice case.
Exploring your legal options
If you believe that a doctor may have been negligent when causing your harm, their mistake may have left you with high medical bills and a life-altering condition. Take the time to carefully look into all the legal options at your disposal, as you may be entitled to significant compensation at this point.