You go to the hospital when you have a health problem, expecting to receive an accurate diagnosis and proper treatment. The last thing you expect to happen is to suffer an injury. However, medical personnel can make mistakes or fall short of providing you with an accepted standard of care.
When this happens, you may be eligible to receive compensation. However, this also means knowing the essential steps to take after a hospital injury. What you do immediately after suffering an injury can impact everything from your ability to file a claim to its overall value.
Understand the Statute of Limitations
All states have statutes of limitations in place affecting how long you have to file a medical malpractice claim. The timeline often varies depending on the state. In Georgia, you have two years from the date the injury occurred to file a medical malpractice claim.
If you’re wondering what happens if you miss the filing deadline, there’s a good chance you can’t file a malpractice claim.
There can be exceptions to the statute of limitations. The two-year deadline can be extended to the date you discovered the injury. An example can be if a surgeon leaves a sponge behind in a patient. The foreign object may not be discovered until an infection sets in. In this instance, the statute of limitations starts on the date you discovered your injury and not when the incident occurred.
Known as the discovery rule, it doesn’t indefinitely extend the statute of limitations. You must discover the injury in a reasonable amount of time.
Identify the Responsible Individual or Entity
Filing a medical malpractice claim is often challenging. You must identify a liable party and it’s not always easy. You may name a healthcare provider, the hospital, or both. Identifying the at-fault party usually means conducting a thorough investigation.
Chances are you don’t have the resources to investigate the incident, which is why it’s usually best to partner with a medical malpractice attorney. They can request hospital or medical personnel records, investigate the incident scene, and interview any witnesses.
Remember, a hospital injury usually means you’re going up against the facility’s legal team and this can be daunting.
Collect Your Evidence
Anytime you file an injury claim you need to provide supporting evidence. You can’t simply call up the insurance company and request compensation for your damages. You must prove an incident occurred and it’s the cause of your injuries.
So, what types of evidence do you need to prove your hospital medical malpractice claim? Here’s a list of some examples. Don’t worry if everything doesn’t apply to your injury claim. Every claim is different so you can’t use someone else’s as an example. Remember, you can only claim damages you suffer and this determines the type of evidence you need to provide:
- Medical records
- Imaging scans and test results
- Doctor’s notes
- Witness statements
- Medical expert testimony
- Photographs and imaging results
- Informed consent documentation
- Hospital protocols and policies documents
- Financial records
If you’re wondering why you may need to provide your financial information, this usually only applies if you’re claiming lost income. Some hospital injuries are severe enough to force the victim to miss work. When this applies, you should be able to claim lost earnings. This is when you need to produce financial records like pay stubs, tax returns, and bank statements.
Notify the Hospital
After gathering all of your evidence, it’s time to notify the hospital of your impending claim. Once you notify the defendant, you’ve satisfied the statute of limitation requirements. Now, you can stop watching the clock, take a deep breath, and get ready to present your hospital injury claim.
Notifying the hospital of your impending claim doesn’t mean you’re ready to start negotiating a settlement. This comes after you file your injury claim. Don’t forget to sign a medical release form when you notify the hospital.
The facility’s legal team will also need access to your medical records. Don’t worry about how far in your records the legal team will go. They only need access to information relating to your injury, its diagnosis, and any subsequent treatment.
File Your Claim
Finally, you’re getting a little closer to finding out if your injury claim is approved or denied. Even though it seems like this step should be pretty simple, it can be challenging to navigate. You’re doing a little more than simply sending a claim form and your supporting evidence off to the insurance adjuster.
You may need to send a demand letter and this usually requires expert legal guidance. A demand letter is your attempt to reach a settlement with the insurance provider before your claim turns into a lawsuit heard in civil court.
If your demand letter is accepted, congratulations! You’re moving on to negotiations. This is another time it’s best to have an experienced attorney working with you.
Your attorney is a skilled negotiator and familiar with the tactics insurance companies commonly use to get you to accept a lower settlement offer. Don’t get discouraged if the first or even second round of negotiations falls through. This is a process that can drag on for a few weeks or even a couple of months.
Hopefully, you can reach an agreement. If not, it’s probably time to file your hospital malpractice claim in civil court. You’ll also have another chance to try and work out a settlement before the trial starts. Known as mediation, it’s a common step ordered by the court to try and avoid a lengthy trial.
Simply the Legal Process By Working with an Attorney
Sometimes it can seem like receiving your injury is the easy part of the legal process. Filing a medical malpractice claim against a hospital can be challenging, especially if you want to receive your claim’s maximum value.
Partnering with an experienced medical malpractice attorney can simplify the legal process while also helping to ensure you receive fair compensation for your injuries and other damages.