You may feel personally wronged by a medical professional. But you may wonder whether this is enough to pursue legal action against them. Follow along to find out whether you are eligible to file a medical malpractice complaint and how a proficient New York City medical malpractice attorney at Mark L. Bodner, P.C. can work to navigate your legal options.
Under what circumstances am I eligible to file a medical malpractice complaint?
Simply put, you may be eligible to file a complaint against a medical professional if their negligent behavior caused you injury or damages. Examples are as follows:
- You may have received untimely care for your neurological injuries or orthopedic injuries at the hands of a medical professional.
- You may have received a delayed diagnosis or a failed diagnosis at the hands of a medical professional.
- You may have incurred injuries and damages during your hospital stay (i.e., surgical errors, anesthesia errors, medication errors, etc.) at the hands of a medical professional.
- Your child may have incurred life-altering birth injuries at the hands of a medical professional (i.e., Cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, brain damage, etc.), and you wish to file a complaint on their behalf.
- Your loved one may have incurred a wrongful death at the hands of a medical professional, and you wish to file a complaint on their behalf.
What relationship do I need with a medical professional to file a complaint against them?
Importantly, before placing blame on a certain medical professional, you must ensure that they were directly attending to your healthcare at the time of your incident. In other words, to rightfully become a plaintiff of a medical malpractice claim, you must confirm the following relationships and circumstances as true:
- You must have been the patient of the medical professional in question.
- The medical professional in question must have owed you a duty of care.
- The medical professional in question must have fallen short of the standards established by their peers.
- You must have incurred injuries and damages as a direct result of this breach of duty.
- Your injuries and damages would have been easily avoidable or treatable if it were not for this breach.
With that being said, you cannot file a complaint against a medical professional if you fail to abide by their specific recommendations. For example, you cannot complain that your orthopedic injuries have not improved if you do not attend your prescribed physical therapy sessions. Similarly, you cannot complain that your cancer was left undiagnosed if you do not schedule an appointment for your prescribed CT scan.
You must not hesitate and reach out to a talented New York City medical malpractice attorney as soon as you possibly can. Our team at Mark L. Bodner, P.C. will be awaiting your phone call.