When seeking medical treatment from a professional, you expect to feel better after treatment, not worse. Many may not consider their doctor’s work history before going to see them. However, this could end up being a huge mistake.
According to John Hopkins, 10% of deaths are attributed to medical mistakes. Unfortunately, medical malpractice is very common and on the rise with 85,000 cases filed every year.
Before going to visit a doctor, you should consider researching them to see if they have been disciplined in the past by their medical board for unsafe or unethical behavior. Your research should also include seeing if they have any complaints or lawsuits against them.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical Malpractice is defined as an inappropriate act or omission of care during treatment that results in a patient injury, illness, or death. It can take different forms such as:
- Misdiagnosis
- Overprescribing medication
- Surgical mistakes
How Can I Screen Health Care Providers?
Here are a few methods on how to research health care providers:
- First, do an online search of their name and follow with keywords such as “malpractice,” “lawsuit,” “complaint,” “sanction,” or “suspension”.
- Check your state’s medical licensing board to view your provider’s basic information such as education and board certifications.
- Check your state’s medical licensing board to make sure their license hasn’t been suspended.
Things to Keep in Mind
- While you might be able to find some information on your health care provider, this information may be incomplete or outdated. In some cases, the health care provider is responsible for self-reporting errors which they may fail to do.
- There may be more than one health care provider with the same name so be sure to cross-reference information.
- Sometimes poor ratings are due to reasons outside of the physician’s control
Medical Malpractice Attorneys in Louisville, KY
Have you been a victim of medical malpractice? To file a medical malpractice suit, you’ll need to hire a reputable attorney like Kaiman & Crahan. We can advise you if your case is substantial enough and assist you with filing a report with the state medical board.