How to Recognize If You’re a Victim of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider, through a negligent act or omission, causes injury or harm to a patient. It is the result of a deviation from the accepted standard of professional practice: the level of skill, diligence and attention that a reasonably prudent provider would exercise under similar circumstances. Malpractice can happen at any stage of care: diagnosis, treatment, aftercare or health management. 

Examples of medical malpractice are misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, surgical errors, medication mistakes and birth injuries during labor or delivery. Certain warning signs like the following can indicate that your outcome may have been caused by a health care provider’s negligence:

• Your condition gets worse instead of better — It’s normal for some illnesses to take time to respond to treatment. However, your health might decline because your doctor failed to diagnose your condition, delayed vital treatment or prescribed an inappropriate course of care. Examples are a missed diagnosis that lets a condition progress unchecked, complications caused by delays or treatments that don’t align with your symptoms or test results. 

• Your diagnosis doesn’t seem to make sense — Watch for situations where no tests or imaging were done before a major diagnosis; a diagnosis seems based on assumptions rather than evidence; or symptoms continue despite treatment. A good way to check is to seek a second opinion or more and see whether they match up with the original.

• You experience unexpected complications — While all medical procedures carry some risk, certain medical errors should never occur in a healthcare setting when proper safety protocols are followed. These “never events” include surgical tools being left in the body, operations on the wrong body part, unsanitary practices leading to severe infections and anesthesia errors. 

• A loved one’s health declines in a hospital or nursing facility — Family members can notice sudden changes in condition, unexplained injuries, medication mistakes or staff who are evasive or uncommunicative. These may signal neglect or improper care.

• Lack of informed consent — Patients have the right to be told the risks of treatment or surgery, possible alternatives and the possible after-effects. If your provider failed to give you this explanation so that you could make an informed choice, your consent might not have been valid. Afterward, if your medical team avoids your questions, omits records or suddenly changes their communication, a mistake may have occurred. 

If any of these warning signs appear, consult an experienced medical malpractice attorney. Early legal advice can protect your rights and improve your chances for a successful claim. An attorney can review facts, consult independent experts, determine if negligence played a role and take the necessary actions. Generally, a malpractice claim requires a certificate of merit, a statement by a qualified medical expert that the claim has a reasonable basis. In New York, you usually have 2½ years from the date of malpractice — or from the end of continuous treatment with the provider — to file a lawsuit.

At Jakubowski, Robertson, Maffei, Goldsmith & Tartaglia, LLP in St. James, New York, we represent people across Long Island who have suffered harm as the result of medical malpractice. To discuss your case and learn how we can help you, call us at 631-360-0400 or contact us online.