If you sustain an injury or are taken ill, you may need to go to the hospital so you can receive the treatment. And when you do, you trust that the doctor who will attend to you has the right qualifications and competence to diagnose and administer the treatment you need to get back on your feet.
However, mistakes do happen. Sometimes, a doctor’s mistakes can worsen your condition or lead to injuries. If this happens, you may seek to bring a medical malpractice claim against the hospital that hired the healthcare provider or the doctor who treated you. So, when exactly can you sue the doctor rather than the hospital for medical malpractice?
Here are two situations when you can hold the doctor liable for medical malpractice:
When they fail to accurately diagnose your condition
Failure to diagnose or a wrongful diagnosis can have serious implications for the patient. For instance, if you have stage 2 colon cancer that is not diagnosed at all or is diagnosed as a mere bacterial infection, you may never receive the treatment you need to prevent the cancer from advancing. If, upon seeking a second opinion, you are accurately diagnosed with cancer, you may sue the doctor who diagnosed you with bacterial infection for damages.
When they administer the wrong treatment
A misdiagnosis will most often lead to the wrong treatment. Consequently, this can worsen the original condition. Likewise, it is not uncommon for a doctor to administer the right treatment but inappropriately. This can be in the form of a drug overdose or underdose. This too can justify a medical malpractice claim against the doctor.
Doctors, like everyone else make mistakes. However, if these mistakes are attributable to negligence, then you may hold them accountable through a medical malpractice lawsuit.
