After countless general physicians, emergency room doctors, surgeons, etc., a physical therapist may be the last healthcare professional you have to see before you can finally reach a full recovery from your incurred bodily injuries. However, after otherwise having a great healthcare experience and making it this far unscathed, you may encounter a negligent physical therapist who makes a grave mistake during one of your sessions. This mistake may cost you your health and well-being, at least temporarily. With that being said, please read on to discover the kinds of mistakes a physical therapist is prone to making and how a seasoned New York City physician mistake attorney at Mark L. Bodner, P.C., can help you respond to this appropriately.
What kinds of mistakes can a physical therapist make?
Most unfortunately, your attending physical therapist may fall below the standard of care established by the peers in their profession. In doing so, they may exacerbate the injury you originally sought treatment for, or even trigger a new bodily injury requiring a separate, additional treatment journey. This may manifest in any one of the following incidents:
- A physical therapist may ignore your complaints of pain during an exercise and persist with excessive force, causing fractures, tears, or other harm.
- A physical therapist may deviate from your treating physician’s prescribed treatment plan, causing your major mobility and pain issues to progress.
- A physical therapist may poorly utilize a therapeutic tool (i.e., electronic stimulation units, hydrotherapy, etc.), causing permanent burning or scarring on your body.
- A physical therapist may leave you unattended on a piece of exercise equipment (i.e., a treadmill, exercise ball, balance board, etc.), causing you to slip and fall.
- A physical therapist may fail to identify and rectify faulty or malfunctioning equipment within the facility, causing bodily injuries when you use or encounter it.
- A physical therapist may physically touch a body part unrelated to your injury or without your explicit consent, causing you the emotional trauma of sexual assault.
What if I’m injured due to a physical therapist’s mistake?
It is not right that you went to a physical therapist to feel physically better, and you left feeling worse or having to deal with additional injuries. Along with this physical pain, you may emotionally suffer as you must go through the intensive process of invasive medical treatments once more. This is not to mention the financial toll additional doctors’ appointments and procedures cause.
You may believe this closely aligns with your experience. You may also accept that an element of negligence was involved in your physical therapist’s behaviors and actions (i.e., they breached their duty of care). If so, you may be well within your rights to pursue a medical malpractice claim.
For help in preparing for this upcoming legal process, turn to a competent New York City hospital negligence attorney. We at Mark L. Bodner, P.C., have gone through this countless times before and are ready to go through it again to support you.