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Signs What Happened To You Might Have Been Medical Negligence

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Every medical procedure comes with its risks. Just because a procedure does not go the way you hoped does not necessarily mean you were the victim of medical negligence. However, doctors and nurses do sometimes make mistakes or fail to provide the care they're expected to provide — and in that case, negligence often has been committed. Here are some signs that what happened to you might constitute negligence.

You were not informed of the risks of the procedure.

Perhaps what happened to you after the procedure is a relatively common side-effect, but nobody told you about it. For example, maybe you developed an infection in your jaw bone after having a tooth removed, but nobody ever told you this was a possibility. This could qualify as negligence, as doctors are generally required to inform patients of all common side effects prior to a procedure. You may not have agreed to the procedure had you know about this risk.

Your doctor or nurse failed to listen to your complaints of symptoms.

Did you inform your doctor or nurse of what you were feeling after your procedure, only to have them ignore your assertions? This could qualify as negligence, as they should have taken your complaints seriously. For example, if you told your doctor your incision was warm and red, and they either ignored you or told you this was fine, and you subsequently suffered terribly because the infection was not treated promptly — that could be negligence.

Your doctor or nurse was under the influence when providing your care.

Did your doctor or nurse seemingly make a mistake because they were drunk or under the influence of drugs? Maybe you noticed the smell of alcohol on their breath or the characteristic shaking associated with opiate use. Using drugs or alcohol while on the job is absolutely negligent behavior, so you should have a strong case for any injuries you experienced due to this caregiver's actions.

Your doctor or nurse was not really qualified to provide the treatment they did provide.

Say, for example, you have an operation performed on your digestive tract, only to develop a serious infection in the days that follow. You later find out that the surgeon who operated on you was not board-certified to perform the procedure. This could constitute negligence, as the doctor was performing outside of their realm of expertise.

Talk to a medical negligence attorney to find out more about what constitutes medical negligence, and to learn whether your case qualifies.


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