Dr. Bruce G. Fagel is one of the county’s leading doctors and attorneys, who focuses heavily on medical malpractice. People like Dr. Fagel have been speaking out of late as to why medical malpractice matters more than ever, and why more patients need to be aware of exactly what medical malpractice actually is.
Ultimately the issue here is that so many patients are simply not happy with their treatment or the treatment of a family member, and so they call foul play. What is important to realize here is that a mistake made by a doctor, surgeon, nurse or hospital is not always grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit, and these cases actually jam up the courts preventing real cases from being heard.
Wrongful/Missed Diagnosis
One of the most common claims which is made is for wrongful or missed diagnosis, this however is not medical malpractice, at least not in the main. For every day that a cancer patient gets undiagnosed, they are literally losing weeks, months and years from their lives. Sadly however doctors cannot treat every patient with a bad back as though they have cancer, because they have to follow the rules of probabilities. And so a missed diagnosis, whilst painful and tough to take, is not considered as being negligent and doesn’t fall under medical malpractice.
Why It Matters – Prevention
The reason why experts like Dr. Fagel have spoken out in the last 12 months, especially following the situation around the pandemic, was following information which came out regarding those who fail to report malpractice. In doing this, individuals and organizations can never be held to account for their actions and this means that it could happen again in the future. Very often those who are in fact found guilty of medical malpractice, are repeat offenders. Just imagine you have a surgeon making mistakes because of a prescription drug addiction, that person needs to be stopped before they make any more mistakes and hurt other people.
Damages For The Victim
There is a real stigma attached to this blame culture which has been created in this country and that results in many people not coming forward over these issues through fear of being stigmatized. The reality however is that the money paid out in damages is done for 2 reasons, the first being that this money can be used to cover medical costs and lost earnings, and the second is that hitting hospitals and organizations in the pocket is one of the best ways to put them in line and ensure that they are doing things as they should be moving forward.
Whether it is a wrongful death, a surgical error which has lead to life changing damage, an incorrectly handled pregnancy leading to illness or any other medical malpractice situation, it is something which must be brought in front of the court, proven and then prevented from ever happening again in the future. This is why malpractice matters.
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