Misunderstandings often cloud issues in medical malpractice lawsuits. Many patients think they have no chance for a lawsuit if they signed an agreement, or they just sit tight and dare not act because they fear their doctor will forfeit their license. Others believe that such cases are all about getting rich from a large settlement, or that only surgical mistakes count.
These errors of judgment are lethal. They can prevent patients from making medical providers who are responsible for harm truly accountable, and from receiving damages for injuries that may last for a lifetime. The truth is, though, that malpractice cases are about fairness, responsibility, and safety.
If you’ve been harmed by medical negligence, an experienced medical malpractice injury lawyer will be able to help you discover and assert your rights, dispel the myth, and guide you through procedures that seek justice.
In this article, we will electronically lampoon seven common myths about medical malpractice lawsuits, along with some enlightening examples and points for investigation.
Myth 1: If You Signed a Consent Form, You Can’t Sue
The Truth: Consent forms inform us of risks and dangers but are not excuses for negligence.
Before undergoing a medical procedure, you will usually be asked to sign a consent form acknowledging the potential dangers involved. This might include infection, scarring, or risks that the treatment will not work. Patients sometimes mistakenly believe that by signing this document, they lose their right to sue.
However, It is important to know the truth: consent forms are for known risks, and are not reasons to indulge in. If a doctor leaves a surgical tool in your body, misreads critical test results, or fails to watch your vital signs while you are under anesthesia, that’s malpractice and not a known risk.
On this form, the patient agrees to the dangers of anesthesia. Oxygen levels should be checked during surgery, but the anesthesiologist didn’t, and the patient suffered brain damage. That is called malpractice. It does not absolve providers when they make mistakes.
An experienced medical malpractice attorney Los Angeles can review your case and determine whether negligence occurred, regardless of any consent form you signed.
Myth 2 : Prescribing Fault Lies with Malpractice.
The fact is, malpractice lawsuits are all about survival and accountability.
Hollywood and news headlines have sometimes presented malpractice suits as ‘lottery checks’ that greedy patients claim twice, but in real life, most victims sue because they’re crushed by debt from medical bills, unable to work, permanently injured, and so on.
In malpractice cases, the following compensation is typical:
- Medical bills (current and future);
- Rehabilitation and medical expenses;
- Loss of earnings, now and in the future;
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress.
- In huge cases, damages can also be awarded for wrongful death.
Example: She and her child do not file for wealth; she is suing because they can no longer work, need comprehensive medical assistance daily, and depend on a stable family income.
When patients file lawsuits, they also help make the healthcare system better, by keeping providers accountable for their mistakes – and that can prevent other people from going through the same things themselves.
Myth 3: Only Surgical Errors Count as Malpractice
For more people than we care to imagine, when malpractice comes to mind, they immediately think of an anesthetist having to operate twice because he broke something in the first surgery or someone receiving a hip replacement done on their right knee.
And malpractice covers many areas other than just the operating room.
- Emergency wards don’t follow up on X-rays: A woman had an X-ray done of her right hand, which was severely injured in an auto wreck, but no steps were taken.
- Not treating heart attack signs: A hospital discharges a person although the symptoms of a heart attack were visible long before.
- Mistakes in anesthesia: Failing to properly administer or monitor anesthesia.
- Negligence during pregnancy or delivery, resulting in harm to the mother or child
You’ll have to ask an experienced medical malpractice lawyer before you know if the harm to your womb was caused by any of these things.
Myth 4: You Can Sue Anytime Something Goes Wrong
The Truth: There’s no error in every poor outcome
Since medicine is complex, even when a doctor gives all the right treatments, sometimes things will still fail to work for him or her. Complications occur, and patients don’t make a full recovery. Malpractice is not just some bad result-it’s about proving that the provider did not meet the accepted standard of care.
Four elements must be proven for malpractice to succeed in court:
- Duty of care: The provider had a responsibility to treat you.
- Breach of duty: They departed from medical standards.
- Causation: Their negligence caused your injury.
- Damage: You were injured (financially, physically, or emotionally) as a result.
Example: A patient has a heart attack after being misdiagnosed with indigestion. If a reasonably competent doctor would have ordered further tests, the misdiagnosis may be malpractice.
But if the same patient was given all 3 tests and the condition in question still did not show up (or was undetectable), it may not qualify as malpractice.
This distinction is why the help of a medical malpractice injury lawyer is so important-they understand how to interpret facts and find out if there was fault.
Myth 5: Doctors Will Lose Their License If You Sue
The Truth: Lawsuits rarely have bearing on a doctor’s professional permit.
Patients frequently feel hesitant about suing since they don’t want to risk ruining a doctor’s career. But HHSC is not authorized to take away permits automatically for doctors who are sanctioned in a judicial proceeding.
Boards for certification will only cancel or suspend medical licenses in cases involving what they see as egregious negligence, fraud, or criminal behavior; for the most part, lawsuits never achieve such results. Most malpractice cases end in private settlements between patients and their physicians or jury verdicts, and the doctors keep right on practicing medicine as before.
According to this myth, many victims are unable to pursue insurance claims. But the fact is that physician malpractice suits are there for patients who need redress and healthcare providers who must be answerable to the law.
Myth 6: Malpractice Cases Are Easy to Win
These are very complex cases, and heavily defended as well. Hospitals, insurance companies, and healthcare providers all have exceptionally strong legal forces on their side. Cases of malpractice require weighty proof and very often turn on expert testimony.
Typically, the main evidence is:
- Comprehensive coverage of the patient’s days in the hospital
- Independent expert witnesses to set the norm of medical care
- Proof that the practitioner deviated from that standard of care
- Proof of a connection between negligence and injury suffered
Example: A patient who sustains brain damage from delayed treatment has to prove that the delay, which led to harm – and not really the original illness – was the direct cause here. This is a task requiring medical experts as well as careful legal strategies.
Without a well-versed lawyer specializing in the field of medical malpractice, doing so is virtually impossible.
Myth 7: Filing a Lawsuit Means You Have to Go to Court
Most of these cases are settled before the start of the trial. Jury and courtroom trials are impressive material for television programs, but in fact never come into being in the vast majority of times that a medical malpractice suit is brought. Instead, they often finish with settlements.
Why settlements are so frequent:
- Trials are time-consuming and cost a lot of money
- They give certainty and quick provision of compensation to victims
- Neither side must face the uncertainty of a jury decision.
Nevertheless, if a fair settlement is not come up with, your lawyer will have to prosecute directly in court. The readiness of a counselor to go into court usually induces the other side to look at things much more seriously.
Final Thoughts – Know the Truth Before You Decide
Medical malpractice suits are complicated, but they are also an essential part of safeguarding the rights patients enjoy. Don’t let false ideas hold back justice if you’ve been injured through your negligence.
Here’s the reality:
- Consent forms don’t excuse malpractice.
- Lawsuits are about survival, not greed.
- Malpractice includes far more than surgical mistakes.
- Not every poor outcome is malpractice—you must prove negligence.
- Doctors rarely lose their licenses over a lawsuit.
- These cases are complex and require expert legal representation.
- Most claims settle outside of court.
At any rate, if you suspect that negligence (not merely malpractice) has caused you harm, then talk to a Los Angeles Medical Malpractice Lawyer. With the help of an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Los Angeles, people who have been injured due to medical errors can receive fair compensation from the responsible parties. It also frees victims to do what they can: focus on getting better.
