Generally, there is little to no understanding about what a victim of medical malpractice should do after he or she has discovered harm or injuries due to poor medical treatment, surgery, or mistaken diagnosis.
People talk about medical malpractice cases like they are car accident cases. Medical malpractice is nothing like getting injured in a car accident or any other personal injury case, and it requires a unique legal approach in order to obtain compensation.
Today, we brought our Hawaii medical malpractice attorney from the Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt P.A. to spell out what a victim of medical malpractice must do after discovering an injury or illness in order to sue the at-fault medical provider and recover damages.
Contact the doctor
If you believe that you have been injured as a result of your doctor, nurse, surgeon, or other medical provider’s negligence, contact the medical professional involved. Before contacting the doctor, it is highly advised to seek the legal advice of a Hawaii medical malpractice lawyer to be prepared for any outcome. Better yet, let your attorney contact the doctor to have a more constructive discussion.
When contacting the medical provider, it is vital to remain calm and not overreact, as lashing out at your doctor may hurt your medical malpractice case. When discussing your case, it is important to determine what may have gone wrong and whether or not it is something that can be corrected or fixed.
In most such cases, negligent medical providers agree to perform necessary medical procedures to correct the problem free of charge.
Filing a medical malpractice claim
Unless your medical malpractice injury or illness is something that can be fixed – and will be fixed free of charge by the at-fault medical provider – or if that injury has resulted in other damages such as lost wages or loss of earning capacity, you may want to consider filing a medical malpractice claim.
Do keep in mind, however, that there are certain time limits to consider when filing a medical malpractice claim. In Hawaii, you cannot legally bring the claim if you discovered the personal injury or should have discovered the injury through reasonable diligence more than two years ago.
Get a medical assessment to confirm the injury
If you are legally represented by a Hawaii medical malpractice attorney, it will not be a problem to get a medical assessment of your condition, illness or injury and determine whether or not it was caused as a result of negligence on the part of a doctor, nurse, surgeon, physician, or any other medical provider. In order to get this assessment, also known as a “certificate of merit,” your attorney will get in touch with an independent and qualified physician to review your case and determine whether or not your primary doctor failed to provide a high standard of care.
Consider an out-of-court medical malpractice settlement
Since medical malpractice lawsuits are quite expensive and time-consuming, you may want to consider an out-of-court settlement. However, do not accept just any settlement offer proposed by your healthcare provider. It is vital to let an experienced attorney review your medical malpractice case and estimate the full value of damages suffered.
Contact the Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt P.A.. to get a free consultation about your case. Call our offices at 808-736-5035, or complete this contact form.