Thankfully there are very few medical malpractice claims which are made each year in this country. There are unfortunately a number which still occur however, and there is a tight legal system in place for it. Malpractice includes things like surgeons and doctors recommending treatments which they shouldn’t, working under the influence or even stitching tools and instruments inside the body when they close up. There are all kinds of issues which can occur and this is why we have legal experts like David Cates, leading the charge against these cases.
There is however an issue when it comes to medical malpractice, and that is that most claims don’t carry much weight.
The Claim Culture
The first obstacle here is the fact that we are living in something of a claim culture right now, whereby people want to get some compensation by telling a few untruths, or downright lies. This has become a very difficult issue for the courts, because they have to separate those telling the truth, from those who are not. The result of this claim culture is that more red tape has been added and more steps have been created, to try and weed out those who are looking for money for nothing.
Mistakes in the Workplace
On a construction site a mistake could result in a door not closing or a wall not being strong enough, in plumbing it could mean a leaky pipe, yet in medicine it can result in the loss of life. What many fail to grasp is that mistakes can and do happen all of the time in the world of medicine. Whether we care to admit it or not, we do not know everything about the human body and we cannot cure every disease. There are certain measures which have to be taken in the hospital when they are deciding on the treatment of a patient, and this is all that they have at their disposal. If the treatment choice turns out to be wrong but protocols were followed then this is sadly just the way of life. This is certainly not malpractice.
Coming Forward
Another issue with these claims is that because of the fact so many have trust and faith in their healthcare staff, which is not a bad thing at all. Unfortunately however there is still a big group of people who won’t come forward after an issue because they don’t want to rock the boat or because they thing that in doing so there would be something wrong. The reality of course is that if you think you have been a victim of malpractice then you simply must come forward. There is no bad thing that will happen to you if you do, and you can prevent this from becoming an issue in the future.
These are some of the biggest challenges when it comes to this kind of legal action, and why it is often so difficult to pursue.
