(845) 802-0047If you suspect that your medical provider made a mistake that caused you to suffer a serious injury or hurt your loved one, you might have grounds for legal recourse against that negligent doctor by filing a malpractice suit. However, pursuing a legal claim against a healthcare practitioner is not easy. You need to work with an experienced malpractice attorney who understands the medical issues and knows how to build a strong claim.
A knowledgeable legal team could help you determine the initial steps to take in a Newburgh medical malpractice case.
What is Malpractice?
Malpractice occurs when a trusted healthcare provider violates the standard of care owed to their patient by acting negligently. The standard of care varies based on the medical provider’s experience, training, and geographic location. Essentially, the standard of care would be whatever a similarly trained provider would do when faced with a similar patient under similar circumstances.
The medical provider’s negligence must also cause substantial harm to the patient in order for the mistake to rise to the level of malpractice. Some of the most common forms of negligence seen in Newburgh are as follows:
- Birth injuries – Mistakes made by an obstetrician, labor and delivery nurses, or midwife during labor or delivery
- Anesthesia errors – Using too much or too little anesthesia can threaten a patient’s life
- Not taking a patient’s complete history before diagnosing them or prescribing them medicine
- Misdiagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- An incorrect or unnecessary operation, such as an operation on the wrong body part
- Radiology errors, such as misinterpreted x-rays, or CT or MRI scans
- Prematurely discharging a patient
A well-informed attorney could meet with a patient and their family to help them determine if their injury might have occurred because of malpractice.
Steps to Take if a Patient Suspects Malpractice in Newburgh
Pursuing a malpractice claim often involves several steps, which could all be relevant to the eventual claim.
Contact the Healthcare Provider
The first step should be to contact the medical provider. The medical professional might be able to quickly determine precisely what went wrong and whether there is an easy solution. If they are able and willing to fix the problem at no cost to the patient, there would likely be no need to bring a legal suit.
Contact the State Licensing Board
If the doctor cannot or will not help the patient, the next step would be to contact the New York medical licensing board. The board could take disciplinary action against the medical provider who hurt the patient, and they might also be able to point a person in the direction of where to go next.
Contact an Attorney
An injured patient and their family should meet with a lawyer as soon as possible in the legal process. If they are uncomfortable confronting their physician or talking to the state licensing board, the lawyer could accompany them or help them come up with a list of questions and concerns to discuss with their doctor. An experienced legal team could listen to the details of the case and help advise a patient whether their healthcare provider acted negligently.
Learn More from an Attorney About the Initial Steps to Follow in a Newburgh Medical Malpractice Suit
If you are considering pursuing legal action against your healthcare provider because of an error they made that caused you to suffer an injury, you should meet with a lawyer as soon as possible. Malpractice cases are often challenging and require a detailed understanding of complex medical and legal matters.
A knowledgeable legal team could tell you more about the initial steps to take in a Newburgh medical malpractice case. Meet with us today to work towards a satisfactory resolution of your legal claim.