Tulsa Personal Injury Law Blog
Today we will continue our overview of steps a Tulsa resident can take prior to filing a medical malpractice case. We discussed speaking to the physician directly about the issue, bringing the matter up to the medical licensing board and making sure your case falls in the applicable statute of limitations.
In addition to these steps, there are other steps a person who has been harmed by a negligent physician or medical facility can take if they are interested in pursuing a medical malpractice suit. While the laws vary between states, it may help to have a medical assessment performed, and file a “certificate of merit” if necessary. Having another medical professional go over the victim’s medical records can help ensure that the treating medical professional did indeed fail to adhere to the proper medical practices in the victim’s case.
In addition, while the victim of medical malpractice may initially wish to litigate the matter, it is important that such cases can take a lot of time and may be expensive. For these reasons, it may be in the victim’s best interests to reach an agreement regarding the case out-of-court. An out-of-court settlement can still compensate the victim for the damages he or she suffered without having to endure a trial and possibly gain nothing.
Finally, it may go without saying that the victim of medical malpractice may want to seek the advice of a legal professional before proceeding. An attorney can evaluate the facts of a victim’s case and discuss how the law would apply to those facts. By doing so, an attorney can provide the victim with more information about his or her legal options.
Being the victim of medical malpractice can be a traumatic experience. After all, people normally seek medical treatment due to an illness or injury, and they should not have their condition made worse due to the negligent acts of a physician or medical facility. However, victims of medical malpractice can discuss their case with a personal injury attorney to determine if they have a cause of action — advice that this post cannot provide.
Source: FindLaw, “First Steps in a Medical Malpractice Case,” Accessed Oct. 26, 2015
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