Medical negligence occurs when a professional fails to provide the standard care and medication give to a patient. The kind of negligence that occurs whilst in the hands of medical professionals involves injury being inflicted on the patient when it could have been avoided.
* Pain and suffering - Negligence caused by professionals has more negative effects on the patient's life than when they first went to the doctor. Aside from knowing that you're not yet healed, you are also nursing a new injury and pain, causing you more stress than relief.
* Income you may have forfeited - Some of the first stages of negligence are often tolerable, wherein some patients still go see a doctor thinking that the pain they're suffering is just a side effect and is still related to prior medications. A lot of money is wasted in this stage, when it could have been avoided in the first place.
* Future income you may lose - bearing the pain of a negligent act can consume all your hard earned money, keeping yourself on medication and having to undergo regular check ups. You cannot ignore a growing pain, and costly treatments may be necessary and involve you having to take a lot of time off work.
* Disability - Imagine never being able to work again. Or the simple task of bathing and changing yourself being just too much. Losing an entire limb, or a mere scar on your face, can affect your whole being and self-confidence.
Proving that medical staff have been negligent, is not easy. Extensive
consolidation of proof is required before you can even sue. One thing that makes it even harder is given the fact that the person may be taking medication and their illness is taking a toll on them. The court may need more evidence to be presented and patients may need to undergo a physical investigation that sometimes causes them more suffering and humiliation.
Not all patients who sue for medical negligence are after the money. Some patients who sue doctors claim stronger measures for a better outcome.
Reasons why patients sue:
* Acknowledgement of harm done - Patients want doctors to acknowledge the harm done to them and to make the public aware of their negligence.
* Compensation - Some sue these doctors for money back and even more if proven guilty. That is why it needs an extensive review and submission of explicit evidence to the court.
* Doctors to be punished and make apologies - Some patients want doctors to be punished and when it's brought to the court, most patients ask for licence cancellation.
While most medical errors are caused by negligence, there is also an error caused by natural remedies. Doctors are not expected to heal each and everyone completely, rather, they are asked to provide full and reasonable care.
