It’s your doctor’s responsibility to ask you the right questions and fully examine your symptoms to accurately diagnose and treat your medical condition. It’s your doctor’s responsibility to follow standard medical procedure when giving you care. This is why — when a doctor is negligent or reckless when administering care — patients who are injured as a result can pursue a medical negligence claim for financial damages.
All that said, wouldn’t it be better to bypass a malpractice injury in the first place?
Fortunately, there are a few things that patients can do while communicating with their physicians to dramatically decrease their chances of suffering a medical malpractice injury:
Get prepared
Before you go to the doctor, you should write down your symptoms and concerns. Be thorough and accurate in your descriptions. This will help make sure you don’t forget a vital piece of information during your doctor’s exam.
Prioritize the most urgent issues
When you are going through the list of concerns with your doctor, you might not have enough time to get through everything. Therefore, you should prioritize the most pressing issues, and consider scheduling a second appointment later to cover the remaining issues at that time.
Bring a friend to your exam
Having a friend or family member with you during your medical exam will help make sure you stay calm and clear-headed when making decisions about your care.
The above three suggestions will improve your ability to communicate with your doctor, and it could help you bypass the threat of becoming a victim of medical malpractice. If you were hurt by medical malpractice, our law firm can help you evaluate your potential claim for damages.