Tips from Medical Malpractice Lawyers to Prevent Negligence

Prevent an Injury Before It Ever Occurs

Tips from Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Knowledge is your potential sword against medical malpractice. Thus, you should ask questions, as many questions as it takes to make you feel more comfortable with the procedure. You should be able to explain the procedure, in basic terms, to someone else. If you can’t, ask more questions.

Ask the doctor to explain in everyday words what he or she will do

How long will the surgery take?
What type of anesthesia is necessary?
Who is the anesthesiologist? Is it an anesthesiologist? Hospitals frequently allow nurse anesthetists to perform anesthesia without a doctor, which may lead to a serious complication.
If it is an anesthesiologist, how long has he/she been practicing? Where did he or she train? How much experience he/she have for anesthesia?

General anesthesia is very serious. In order to anesthetize a patient with general anesthesia, that patient is basically being kept alive by machinery. The patient is on a respirator, and the anesthesiologist is controlling medications while monitoring your vital signs. In some instances, a surgeon can perform surgery with local anesthesia, twilight anesthesia or an epidural anesthesia. This may then help avoid the potential catastrophes with general anesthesia.

Ask your surgeon

Where did he or she train? Specifically, what schools and hospitals? For how long?
How many of these specific surgeries has he or she done before and with what result?
What type of recuperation can I expect?
How long will recuperation take?
Will I need help from family members?
Will I need help from other medical providers?
Do I need to schedule rehabilitative care with physical therapists or occupational therapists?
What are the real risks that can occur with this type of procedure, not just a laundry list of every possible thing that could go wrong?

You should force the surgeon to give you the real answers so that you may balance the risk yourself in determining which road to take.

If you have any questions, ask them. We cannot stress this to you enough. Never walk blindly into the hands of a healthcare provider and assume that he or she knows what is best. Be an active participant in making decisions. Furthermore, do not worry about hurting the doctor’s feelings by asking questions. You should never be intimidated; after all, this is your body and your life.

We hope you will never need us. However, if the worst somehow should happen: our medical malpractice lawyers are here for you.

What Our Clients Say

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