Ron Poliquin, DoverLawOffice.com,

I am here to talk about five things you need to know about medical malpractice claims. In my capacity as a civil rights lawyer, I have been able to successfully handle millions of dollars’ worth of medical malpractice claims. What is medical malpractice? Medical malpractice occurs when a hospital, doctor, healthcare profession, or some other agency to a negligent act omission causes an injury to a patient. The negligence might be the result of misdiagnosis, failure diagnosis, failure to treat, aftercare, or health care management. Just because there is an unfavorable outcome by itself does not mean there’s malpractice. There are five things you need to know about medical malpractice.

One – Do not be afraid to seek out a claim. Doctors screw up all the time just like everybody else. Medical errors are the third leading cause of death. Do not feel guilty about consulting with a medical malpractice attorney if you think something went wrong, that’s why that doctors' have insurance. Because doctors screw up and who should be left holding the bag? It certainly should not be the patient or the patient’s family.

Two – Two things need to be proven in a medical malpractice claim. One, the doctors deviated from the standard of care, meaning in the standard of care that is agreed to by the medical professional community and two, that there was a deviation actually caused the injuries.

Three – Get the right attorney, not all attorneys practice medical malpractice cases. The reason I got involved in medical malpractice areas is through my cross over into civil rights. Medical malpractice cases require a different type of expertise. They require a different type of statutory requirement than a typical auto injury case. So, don’t just assume just because somebody takes auto injury cases or personal injury cases that they take medical malpractice cases, that is not entirely the case.

Four - The statute of limitations always runs in a medical malpractice case. A medical malpractice case means a statute of limitations, that is how much time you have to file a lawsuit. If you have run out of the statute of limitations, and you can file after that time period, you will be out of luck. Claims against health care providers must be brought within two years of the date that the injury occurred. Now, if the injury was unknown and could not have been discovered within a two-year period, that action may be brought within three years. But in no event after the expiration of three years. That means that time goes fast.
In a lot of cases when our loved one is experiencing a medical emergency we are not thinking about lawsuits. We are just thinking about getting that person treated and we are thinking of getting that person healthy. So, remember that clock is ticking at the time you discover that there could have been a mistake.

Five – Don’t be afraid to get a second opinion regarding doctors and don’t be afraid to find a new doctor if you don’t feel that you are receiving proper medical care. A lot of top medical malpractice cases are discovered through second opinions by doctors. Your health is too important to place in the hands of a provider who has not earned your confidence, isn’t answering your questions, or is not giving you adequate time and attention.

Now, in medical malpractice cases, here is my last bit of advice, be your own best advocate. Seek out a qualified professional attorney to review the case and qualified experts serving in your case.