You may be confident in your take that a doctor or hospital made a serious mistake that caused you harm. But at the same time, you may be beating yourself over your medical malpractice incident, as well. That is, you may wonder if there was anything more you could have done as a diligent patient to prevent this unfortunate outcome from occurring. Well, these doubts and paranoia should not deter you from pursuing a legal claim altogether. Instead, please follow along to find out whether you should admit the possibility of being partially at fault to your proficient New York City medical malpractice attorney and how Mark L. Bodner, P.C., will offer you support regardless of the circumstances.
What are examples of patient mistakes relevant to a medical malpractice claim?
Understandably so, you may be worried that if you initiate a medical malpractice claim against a doctor or hospital, they may fight back with the argument that you also made serious errors in judgment. Without further ado, below are examples of patient mistakes they may cite at this time:
- As a patient, you disregarded your doctor’s prescribed treatment plan and instructions.
- As a patient, you ignored your symptoms or health complications for too long before seeking professional help.
- As a patient, you failed to disclose a complete and accurate medical history to your treating doctor.
- As a patient, you failed to attend your follow-up care appointments and further tests scheduled by your treating doctor.
Should I tell my medical malpractice lawyer I think I’m partially to blame?
Attorney-client confidentiality is in place so that you do not have to be afraid to admit to your lawyer when you may be partially to blame for a medical malpractice incident. In short, if your lawyer does not know the full story, they may make an inaccurate legal argument that conflicts with the evidence the defendant has already obtained and already submitted to the court.
Rest assured, even if you technically made a mistake as a patient, your lawyer may have the legal tools necessary to justify it effectively. For example, they may explain to the court that cost barriers deterred you from seeking professional medical help sooner. Or, that a language barrier created confusion about how to follow your prescribed treatment plan correctly.
How does comparative negligence work in a medical malpractice claim?
Lucky for you, New York follows a pure comparative negligence system when it comes to medical malpractice claims. This means that a patient may still recover financial compensation even if they are found to be partially or majorly at fault for the incident at hand.
Although you must understand that your award may be reduced proportionally to your percentage of fault. So, if you are 75 percent to blame, you may only recover 25 percent of your damages. This means that it is still crucial to be honest with your lawyer so they can build the strongest legal strategy possible.
With all that being said, please do not hesitate to work together with a talented New York City medical malpractice attorney. The team at Mark L. Bodner, P.C., will have your best interests at heart always and will fight for justice to reign in your favor.