When you think about injuries, you probably don’t realize that these claims are some of the most complex.
Millions of people are hurt every year by medical mistakes, faulty devices, and provider negligence. However, insurance companies, medical records, and procedures have been created to confuse and discourage victims.
The problem is:
Very few people understand these injuries and how the claims work until they are in the middle of one. By that point, it’s too late. Mistakes are made, evidence is lost, and money is wasted.
So what’s the real kicker?
Medical errors cause 251,000 deaths. It’s the third leading cause of death in the US. That’s more than car crashes and workplace injuries combined.
But here’s something most people don’t know…
Healthcare injury cases are complex and different from other personal injury claims. Success in these cases is a different game that only experienced personal injury attorneys can play.
You’ll Learn:
- Health-Related Injuries explained
- Challenges You’ll Encounter With These Injuries
- Steps To Preserve Your Rights
- Navigating The Claims Process
- Building The Strongest Injury Claim
Health-Related Injuries Explained
Health-related injury claims are any injuries that occur in a medical environment.
This means more than just falling in a hospital. It also includes malpractice, defective medical devices, prescription injuries, and hospital injuries.
The range of cases is vast. They go from misdiagnosis to surgical errors. The parties involved are also many and varied, including hospitals, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and device manufacturers.
What makes these cases different:
Proof is different for healthcare claims. You need to show the provider was negligent. This is a lot harder than other claims because medical providers have legal protections.
Other personal injury claims may have an obvious cause, but healthcare claims are more difficult. You are asking a jury to understand complicated medical procedures and if the mistake was avoidable.
Doctors and hospitals have a whole different language and set of standards. Most people won’t understand medical procedures. This makes it hard for a victim to know their rights.
Challenges You’ll Encounter With These Injuries
The number one challenge is proving negligence.
Bad outcomes aren’t the same as a valid legal claim. Negligence is difficult and there are four key components. Duty of care, breach, causation, and injury all need to be proved.
Medical professionals have strong legal teams and insurance companies on their side. They are ready to fight a claim aggressively and professionally.
What most people miss, though:
Statutes of limitations are very short. Most states allow as little as a year from the point of discovery. If you miss the deadline, your case is over.
Medical records are a nightmare. They can take months to get complete copies. Interpretation is a specialized skill, and hospitals “lose” records.
Insurance companies fight hard and use every trick. They will blame you, say your injury was pre-existing, unavoidable, or that something else caused it.
Documentation expectations are insane:
Doctors and hospitals need every detail. Symptoms, initial evaluation, treatment plans. If one piece is missing, it can torpedo a case.
Expert witnesses are critical but expensive and hard to find. You need doctors and nurses willing to testify against a colleague in court.
Steps To Preserve Your Rights
The second you suspect an issue, begin to document everything.
Symptoms, treatments, conversations. Everything, with dates, times, employee names and details about conversations. Keep these records in a notebook.
Get all medical records immediately. Don’t wait for an attorney to request them. Get them now before they “lose” records.
Take photos of visible injuries. Photos are hard to argue with in court. Photos of injuries and their progression can be very powerful.
Don’t sign anything without legal advice. Insurance companies and hospitals will make you sign language that will hurt your claim.
Keep a daily journal about how your injury impacts your life. Detail of pain, lost wages, changes to activities and relationships. This is hard to argue with in court.
Save receipts for all expenses relating to your injury. Medical bills, prescriptions, travel, lost pay. The more the better.
Get a second medical opinion. This will help you, and also provide independent medical evidence.
Navigating the Claims Process
The legal process for health-related injuries is more complex than for other claims.
First, you need to have experts in the field review the facts. This pre-litigation review can take months and thousands of dollars.
Most states also have a certificate of merit requirement. This requires an expert in the field to review the case and certify there is a reasonable basis for the claim.
Discovery is a long, expensive process. Medical records, expert depositions, and testimony are complex.
The defense will use their own medical experts to counter your case. Medical expert vs. medical expert with conflicting testimony is the norm.
Negotiating a settlement is tricky. Insurance companies know it’s expensive, so they lowball hoping you’ll settle instead of litigating.
Building the Strongest Injury Claim
Successful health-related injury claims have one thing in common:
Solid medical evidence.
You must have clear documentation of the appropriate standard of care and how your provider deviated from that standard. That requires significant medical research and expert testimony.
Timeline documentation is key. Dates and times of symptoms, treatment, and condition changes are crucial.
Detailed financial documentation is just as important. Medical expenses, future costs, and loss of earning capacity all need to be shown.
A common oversight people make:
Psychological trauma from these injuries is real and damaging. Depression, anxiety, PTSD. These are real and should be counted in any settlement.
Quality of life changes can be documented and are a real loss. Can’t do things you once loved. Care for family members. Maintain the same relationships.
Life care plans are important in severe cases. Detailed projections of future care needs and assistance are important.
Wrapping Up: The Reality of Health-Related Injury Claims
Injury claims involving the healthcare industry are a unique category of personal injury case.
The statistics are astounding. Malpractice accounts for 5% of all cases. But it’s also the area where cases are most likely to have significant settlements and complex litigation.
Specialized knowledge, resources, and the ability to go up against massive medical institutions and insurance companies are required to succeed.
Key takeaways:
- Time is critical. Statutes of limitations are strict.
- Documentation is everything. Start immediately.
- Medical experts are essential. Find qualified experts.
- The legal process is complex. Don’t do it alone.
- Insurance companies will fight hard. Be ready for it.
The unfortunate reality of these cases is that they aren’t the type that can be successfully handled by individuals alone. The complexity is staggering, and the hoops to jump through are numerous.
It’s almost impossible to find a medical expert to review your case for free before it’s over a year old. The costs associated with expert witnesses in these claims are very high.
Documentation requirements are stringent. You need detailed, complete medical records, often spanning years and with records from multiple providers.
Insurance companies fight these cases with everything they’ve got. They have skilled adjusters and top medical experts working for them. Adjusters make less than $100k a year and have 10x the experience a lawyer does. Medical experts will cost you hundreds of dollars per hour to work on your case, even before the court.
All of this means that health-related injury claims are not something you should take on alone.
At the same time, when handled correctly, these cases are a necessary vehicle to get the care and compensation a person deserves for their injuries.
So long as you recognize the challenges and act quickly, it is possible to get the outcome you need.