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One of the biggest myths of the legal industry is that suing a doctor, nurse or hospital and winning is easy.  Unfortunately it’s not.  Even in Cook County, about 80% of the cases which go to trial are won by the defense.  As a result the concern of many of my callers that “they will just get away with it” sadly often comes true.  It’s unfortunate, but the truth is that to win a medical negligence lawsuit you need a bad screw up and a bad injury.

When you do have a good case or the potential for one, two goals can be met.  Both of the goals are to make the responsible party be accountable.

The first goal in bringing any medical malpractice lawsuit is to bring awareness to the doctor’s mistake in an attempt to stop it from happening to other patients. Unfortunately because doctors are “practicing” medicine, there are times when they are simply in over their heads, or they make absolute mistakes. Other times hospitals have bad policies that are put in place carelessly or to save money.  These mistakes can have catastrophic consequences and the only way to make sure they never happen to anyone else in the future is to make sure the medical provider is fully aware of their error. Your medical malpractice lawsuit may save someone else’s life because it can force a change in how they behave.

The second goal in a medical malpractice lawsuit is to ensure you and/or your loved ones are compensated for the error.  Your medical expenses, both current and future, need to be taken care of as well as compensation for your loss of income due to the malpractice, and for any pain and suffering the malpractice caused.  The worry about having to pay out money causes medical groups to do the right thing for future patients.

These two goals go hand in hand, one helping the other. For instance, hospitals do not want to work with doctors who have made catastrophic mistakes. It isn’t in their financial best interest to keep these doctors on staff. Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit brings the mistake to the forefront and is reported for the rest of the time that doctor is in practice. Hospitals have to keep their profit and loss in mind when they are hiring doctors and if one has several documented mistakes on his or her record, they will probably not allow them to have practicing privileges.

Medical Malpractice lawsuits are not just about punishing doctors who make human errors or “paying out” those who had a bad experience with a doctor or hospital. Medical malpractice lawsuits are meant specifically to point out and acknowledge a medical providers error as well as to make sure the patient is cared for in a quality fashion moving forward. Also, to make sure no one else has to endure a catastrophic medical error.

If you think you might have a medical malpractice situation, call us today to review your case history. We will let you know if you do have a case, and put you in touch with a qualified attorney in your area.