Doctors and other medical professionals are supposed to help you solve your medical problems and provide relief. Unfortunately for some patients, that isn’t always the case. Some patients may be victims of malpractice, meaning their doctor fails to adequately provide relief or may even make the problem worse. In these scenarios, you should contact a medical malpractice lawyer and begin the legal process. However, before you take that drastic step, you need to ensure that you were actually a victim of malpractice and the doctor that treated you is liable for damages. So how can you know if your doctor violated the standard of care when treating you? Let’s take a look.
Entering Improper Data
A very simple way that a doctor can violate the standard of care is by entering improper data into your medical charts or records. While you might think this isn’t that big of a deal at first glance, it can actually lead to some major problems down the road. For example, if a doctor enters into your wrong allergy, you may be unable to take a drug that you aren’t even actually allergic to. This could force you into a less effective treatment and could prolong your medical. Additionally, if your actual allergy isn’t present in your chart, then another doctor may prescribe you a drug you are allergic to, something that can lead to serious allergic reactions. You should always check your medical charts to ensure that the information is accurate, and if you notice that the information entered is wrong, the standard of care may have been violated.
Negligence During Care
When a doctor grossly neglects their patient while they are giving care, it is a direct violation of the standard of care. Common examples of this could occur during surgery. For example, a doctor may operate on the wrong body part or leave surgical equipment still inside a patient’s body. This type of negligence is inexcusable and only puts the patient in danger while creating more problems. Doctors need to be careful and calculating when treating patients, as mistakes can have grave consequences. As a result, if your doctor shows gross negligence while treating you, it’s pretty obvious they are violating the standard of care they swore to uphold.
HIPAA Violations
Another way a doctor can violate the standard of care is by having is by violating your privacy. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) provides patients with the right of medical privacy. Due to HIPPA, doctors cannot disclose medical information without the patient’s permission or prior authorization. As a result, if you find your doctor sharing your private medical information with others when you didn’t give them full permission or authorize them to, it is a violation of the standard of care. Doctors take the Hippocratic oath, pledging to support and help their patients. Violating a patient’s privacy and leaking sensitive information directly goes against that oath, and you have every right to be upset if that happens to you.
Misdiagnosis
One of the more serious ways a doctor can violate the standard of care is through misdiagnosis. When you go to the doctor, you expect them to accurately diagnose your problems and provide you with the correct remedy. When a doctor gives you the wrong diagnosis, they violate the standard of care and put you in serious danger. First, your actual medical problem will likely be untreated, and depending on how serious your issue, this could be life-threatening. In addition, you’ll likely be prescribed drugs or other treatments based on the misdiagnosis. These treatments likely have side effects or other negative drawbacks, things you have to deal with even though you’re no benefit from the treatment at all. As a result, if your doctor has given you the wrong diagnosis, they have violated the standard of care, and you should strongly consider opening a malpractice case.
