You go to the hospital and doctor’s office to make sure you’re healthy. You go through tests and procedures as recommended, believing that anything the doctor tells you must be in your best interests. The truth is that medical providers are human, too, and some do make mistakes. When those mistakes take place, you’re in a position to seek a remedy to that situation.

One potential remedy is to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit and to seek out compensation. You are likely to win a case if you can show that the medical provider was negligent in providing you care. For example, if you go to the doctor after a dog bite and show him puncture wounds, he should look at your history and determine if you need a tetanus shot. He may decide to place you on antibiotics to prevent infection or to order a rabies vaccine to prevent the fatal disease. If a doctor fails to run tests or give you treatments that you need and you get sick or develop a life-threatening condition, then that’s a sign of negligence.

Negligence itself is when a doctor, nurse or other medical provider fails to practice medicine in accordance with current community standards. In the above-mentioned situation, if other doctors would have insisted on a tetanus vaccine but yours didn’t, then you can show that your doctor was negligent.

Medical malpractice cases often settle out of court. Your attorney can help you whether you need to go to trial or want to make sure you’re getting the right amount of money from a settlement offer.

Source: FindLaw, “Medical Malpractice In-Depth,” accessed April 24, 2017