Unfortunately, the medical field tends to foster a high-stress working environment, thereby making it a very real possibility that medical professionals will experience burnout at some point in their careers. What’s worse, this burnout may translate into developing problems with substance abuse. It is important for a medical professional to take a step back from their practice to receive proper rehabilitation and become healthy once more. In other words, it is unacceptable for medical professionals to struggle with a substance abuse issue while actively treating patients. Read on to discover the telling indications that your doctor is intoxicated during your treatment and how a seasoned New York City medical malpractice attorney at Mark L. Bodner, P.C. can help you officially report any incidences.
What are telling indications that my doctor is intoxicated while treating me?
Upon entering your doctor’s appointment, the last thing you may expect is for your doctor to show up under the influence of drugs or alcohol. But unfortunately, this is something that you must look out for and ultimately protect yourself from. Nonetheless, below are telling indications that your doctor is intoxicated while administering your treatment:
- Your doctor is tardy to your appointment and appears disheveled upon arrival.
- Your doctor is slurring their speech or stumbling their balance during your appointment.
- Your doctor is acting rude, aggressive, or otherwise exhibiting inappropriate behavior during your appointment.
- Your doctor is struggling to communicate or execute their clinical decisions regarding your health issue.
- Your doctor is struggling to interpret your clinical test results or document them in your patient chart.
What should I do if I believe my doctor has a substance abuse issue?
It is extremely dangerous for your doctor to be intoxicated while practicing. For one, their intoxication may prevent them from diagnosing you with the correct health condition; thereby leading to a delay in proper treatment that only makes your health condition more critical or even terminal. Secondly, it may prevent them from administering the right type and dosage of medication; thereby leading to your further incurrence of injuries and damages.
At any rate, if you believe that your doctor has a substance abuse issue, you must promptly report them to the New York State Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct. Ultimately, doing so may stop you and any other patients from being put in harm’s way.
But if you have, unfortunately, already been harmed as a direct result of your doctor’s substance abuse issue, then you must strongly consider taking legal action against them. It is without a doubt that practicing medicine while intoxicated is considered an act that falls below the standard of care established by the medical community, and is thereby considered medical malpractice.
There are many benefits to filing a medical malpractice claim against your negligent doctor, but doing so must first be carefully considered. So please get in touch with a competent New York City medical malpractice attorney from Mark L. Bodner, P.C. We look forward to having a conversation with you.