How do I sue for medical negligence?
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How do I sue for medical negligence?
I recently went to a hospital for abdominal and chest pain. They did all the tests that they were supposed to do. They discharged me without finding what the problem was and sent me home on pain killers and nausea medicine. I went home and took the medicine like instructed but the pain didn’t go away. I went to a second hospital the next day. The doctors found what was wrong with me with the same test that the first hospital said were fine and clear. I wanted to know how to sue for negligence. The condition I had was severe and if left untreated I could have died.
Asked on July 28, 2017 under Malpractice Law, Texas
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Medical malpractice is negligence. Negligence on the part of the hospital is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable hospital would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm).
Prior to filing your lawsuit, it may be possible to settle the case with the hospital's insurance carrier. Your claim filed with that insurance carrier should include your medical bills, medical reports (especially the reports from the second hospital) and if applicable, wage loss.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports document your condition and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering which is an amount in addition to the medical bills. Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.
You probably won't recover much because it was the following day that you went to the second hospital where your condition was correctly diagnosed.
If the case is settled with the first hospital's insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed.
If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the insurance carrier, reject them and file a lawsuit for negligence against the hospital. Again, as mentioned above, you won't recover much due to your condition being correctly diagnosed the following day.
If the case is NOT settled, your lawsuit for negligence must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.
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