What Are Your Options For Foot Malpractice?

It may surprise you to learn about the sheer number of foot malpractice cases handled by medical malpractice attorneys these days. Foot malpractice is not uncommon since unethical podiatrists do exists along with the trustworthy ones like any other profession.

Time is of the essence

Think hard but not too long because you might lose all evidence or the podiatrist responsible for your pain might get a heads up and prepare for a possible court battle. The nature of foot malpractice matters significantly. If there has been a surgical error than consult a podiatrist malpractice specialist who will offer a second opinion by reviewing your medical files. Such experts also provide solid evidence in instance of mistreatments revealing your podiatrist’s bad judgment. Any psychological damage, however, requires a reliable psychologist’s opinion.

 Out of court settlement

Podiatrists are humans too and honest mistakes may occur so if the damage is minor, you may wish to approach them and demand reasonable compensation for your suffering. If they accept their errors and you both come to a suitable legal settlement then the issue may be resolved quickly.

Filing a foot malpractice lawsuit

Foot malpractice cases can get just as ugly, expensive and complex as any other in court. You must understand the consequences of pursuing a foot malpractice case like that and be prepared for a long exhausting battle. A good foot malpractice lawyer is essential to your success. 

If you have become a victim of foot malpractice then stay calm and consider various paths before proceeding to file a lawsuit against that particular podiatrist.

Podiatrist Malpractice – Is Your Case Really Strong?

Before you decide on filing a Podiatrist malpractice lawsuit, you need to realize why you are actually doing it, what will you gain from it and how much? What’s done is done. You cannot end the suffering or bring back the departed one. The only gain will be in the form of compensation from the doctor or hospital. This is the best you can get. So are you up for the fight? Are you in on the fact that you will go against your doctor who was negligent as a result of which you had to suffer or your loved one left you for good? If the compensation can do you good, then you need to start looking for a medical attorney who will represent you in the house of law. 

Remember, each day many doctors are being sued by their patient because of malpractice. As the doctors are insured, not only can you not lay a finger on them, they also have a very strong backing because the insurance company will fight the case against you. This is all these insurance companies do, and they are pretty good at it as well. This will make your Podiatrist malpractice case even more difficult to win.

Many people sue their doctors only to lose in the end. But why do they lose the case? Where have they gone wrong? They were injured, yet they couldn’t win. As a matter of fact, the lawsuit will end up costing them rather than being compensated for. This can be a real drag since you spent so much time, money and efforts just to lose in the end. 

Usually, before you decide to file a Podiatrist malpractice lawsuit, you need to first realize how strong your case is. There are some injuries that are physical and evident. These can be proven easily in the house of law. But the mental injuries are hard to prove, even for great medical attorneys. Add to it, the insurance companies fight will not only make the jury believe but also you that you were never harmed. They know how to play with words and with the minds of the people who will be deciding your fate. If you do not have a strong case, you might as well never think about filing a lawsuit in the first place.

Lawsuits are lengthy and they cost a lot. Add to it, the fear of losing time and money is also a great concern of those who seek compensation. Therefore, if you wish to file a case, you first have to ensure that your injuries are real and easy to prove in the courthouse. You need to make the jury believe how badly you have been affected by the doctor’s wrongful act, even if the injury is psychological.

Medical MalPractice

Medical malpractice is negligent treatment of a patient by a physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, or other health care professional. Since the 1970s, medical malpractice has been a controversial social issue. Physicians have complained about the large number of malpractice suits and have urged legal reforms to curb large damage awards, whereas tort attorneys have argued that negligence suits are an effective way of compensating victims of negligence and of policing the medical profession.

 A patient  who claims negligent medical malpractice must prove four elements:

(1) a duty of care was owed by the physician; 
(2) the physician violated the applicable standard of care; 
(3) the person suffered a compensable injury 
(4) the injury was caused in fact  and approximately caused by the substandard conduct. 

The burden of proving these elements is on the complainant in a malpractice lawsuit.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), medical negligence is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. right after heart disease and cancer. Physicians, as professionals have a duty of care to those who seek their treatment. This element is rarely an issue in malpractice litigation, because once a doctor agrees to treat a patient, he or she has a professional duty to provide competent care. More important is that the plaintiff must show some actual, compensable injury that is the result of the alleged negligent care. Proof of injury can include the physical effects of the treatment performed by the physician, but it can also include emotional effects. The amount of compensation at issue is usually a highly contested part of the litigation.

Medical  malpractice litigation began to increase in the 1960s. Tort lawyers were able to break the traditional "conspiracy of silence" that discouraged physicians from testifying about the negligence of colleagues or serving as expert witnesses. By the 1970s physicians alleged that malpractice claims were interfering with their medical practices, with insurance companies either refusing to write malpractice policies for them or charging inflated premiums.
Over the years, physicians and health care providers argued that malpractice claims were also driving up the cost of health care. They contended that jury verdicts in the millions of dollars had to be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher insurance premiums and physician fees.

Foot Surgery Malpractice Claims Due To Anesthesia Overdose

Whenever a patient goes under the knife, there is likely a chance that person will be put under anesthesia depending on how major the surgery is. For minor cuts and surgery, the amount of anesthesia administered will be quite less but for major operations the dosage is slightly in a bigger amount. Same technique is applied for a foot surgery. If the doctor applies any other technique or is unable to do his job correctly, the results can be fatal.

Anesthesia is mainly applied in two ways, intravenously or topically. The method most likely adopted by anesthesiologist for the administration of anesthesia is intravenously for the surgery. The anesthesiologist is in charge of administering the dosage. He should give the patient the right amount of anesthesia at the right time. If by any means the expert fails to give the right dosage, or the injections are administered too closely, or the injection is given too quickly, the patient can suffer from an anesthesia overdose. If such a thing happens, the expert or medical personnel can be sued under a Foot Surgery Malpractice lawsuit. The loved ones of the victim can file a claim against the doctor for his wrongful actions.

But how can one identify if there was an overdose of the injection? Well, there are some evident symptoms that can be identified in order to find out if the anesthesiologist administered the right amount or not. The warning signs that accompany after an overdose are; 

-          Coma;

-          Anxiety;

-          Elevated respiratory rate;

-          Elevated heart rate;

-          Slurred speech;

-          Cardiac arrest;

-          Respiratory arrest;

-          Wrongful death

All these symptoms show that if the single amount of an overdose can have serious repercussions on the patient and for his family as well. Therefore, if your loved one has suffered from any of these problems because of an overdose, you can file a Foot Surgery Malpractice claim against the expert, doctor conducting the surgery or the entire hospital itself where the surgery took place.

If any patient has suffered from an overdose, he may have to go under further treatment, which he never opted for. He, therefore, needs to be compensated for his sufferings, and the perfect way to do that is filing a Foot Surgery Malpractice lawsuit against the expert. These sufferings may include increased medical expenses, emotional distress, missing work and lost of wages along with the pain and suffering.