3 Steps You Can Take When Preparing for a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

After being admitted to the hospital, you may feel that your doctor or staff made an error that caused you permanent damage. Because of this malpractice, you may have already consulted with a personal injury lawyer about your case. If so, there are three things you can do to help your lawyer properly prepare for the medical malpractice suit.

Request a Copy of Your Medical Records

Under the HIPAA laws, you have every right to access to your medical records and get a copy of them for your lawyer. While you may have to pay a small fee to receive the copy, you have the right to request them even if you have not yet paid the bill.

If you are unable to get the copies, speak with your attorney. You may be able to sign a waiver giving them permission to request the records. Also, if the hospital has refused to give you a copy, your lawyer can remind them that it is illegal to withhold a patient's records when they are requested.

Write Down Everything You Can Remember

Another step you can take is to write down everything you remember during your hospital stay. If you have your medical records, you can read over them to help jog your memory. 

When remembering events that took place, try to remember if the staff took care in ensuring they had the right patient for medications and treatments. Before administering any treatment, the staff is supposed to ask your name, look at your name band, and double-check the chart. 

Also, think about any times when you did not recognize your medication or if a treatment had not been discussed with you. It is possible you were given the wrong one.

Another thing to write down is how the staff responded when you started feeling worse. Were they concerned for your well-being or were they more nervous and anxious, worrying more about the repercussions of the incident than on your health.

Every detail you remember could be key in helping you prove malpractice.

Keep a Daily Journal

As part of your lawsuit, you need to show the long-term effects of the hospital staff's actions on your life. One way to do this is to keep a daily journal.

For your first journal entry, discuss how your life was before. If you used to run a mile a day and could play with your children with no difficulty, write that down.

Then, write down how things are different now. If you were a healthy, active individual, describe how not being able to exercise or spend time with your kids has affected you physically, mentally, and emotionally.

After the initial entry, make it a habit of writing in the journal daily. When you have doctor's appointments, write down as much of the details of the visit as you can, especially when describing their views on what has happened to you.

Write about how certain aspects of your life have become limited since the injury. Also, write about how the changes in your lifestyle make you feel. 

If you are angry about not being able to continue running, describe it. Or, you may be depressed because you thoroughly enjoyed playing with your children at the park, and now all you can do is sit and watch them play. Write in as much detail as possible about how your feel and how the injury has affected you.

Taking the actions above can help prepare for your medical malpractice suit. If you have any questions or are unclear about what to do, you may want to schedule an appointment with a personal injury lawyer through services like John V. Boshardy & Associates, P.C. to discuss your concerns.