It’s a tough world and even when you are the clear victim of a medical error, you’re still not in the clear. You can’t rely on the doctor, hospital, or clinic to do what’s right, unfortunately. You and your family are all on their own. That is unless you seek out some assistance. It’s important to watch your back and get ready.

Chances are you’re going to need to sue the organization that messed up. The resulting medical bills lost wages, and permanent disability needs to be compensated. How else can you care for yourself while you recover? It’s very rare for a medical organization to come clean and take care of its mistakes. Money is the name of the game and nobody should be fooled into believing anything else.

So it’s important to get serious if you’re going to get what’s owed you. Do these things and take them seriously to get the job done right.

Talk To An Attorney

Getting an attorney is the best thing you can do for your case. They know exactly what they are doing. They know what is important and what isn’t. You need an attorney to file a suit successfully in most situations. Getting one as early as possible improves your chances of success. Attorneys remove a lot of the burden from the victim because they’re going to file and handle everything except when they absolutely need to consult the client.

However, it’s important to find a personal injury attorney that specializes in medical cases. Finding a good medical negligence lawyer is the difference between success and failure. Their specialization means they are familiar with medical terminology and procedural methodology. They have the education to understand the processes involved in the medical industry and are consequently able to argue malpractice cases more effectively.

Document Everything

Making a record of everything you experience is helpful for your case. It’s important to write down events as they happen or as soon after they occur as possible. So start writing down all the important bits surrounding the event now. Make sure to write down the overall timeline, anything relevant, things people said, or even pieces of information that strike you as odd.

It’s good to write this information in a timestamped format. Many cloud document writers do this automatically. If your word processor allows you to view edits, it’s tracking all of the changes that you make in real-time. This documents when you wrote the information which may be relevant later.

Gather All Case Notes

You’ll want to get copies of all of your medical records. Not just with the organization that made your problem but all records related to your pre-existing condition that led to the medical negligence you experienced. There may not be any records if you experienced negligence in an emergency situation as the conditions were emergent.

Your medical records will be necessary for the judge and all the lawyers involved. If the issue is obviously the fault of the doctor, medical records will help to prove your case. Medical records are also necessary to determine the degree of disability you are experiencing. Many modifying factors are also taken into consideration based on your prognosis.

You’ll also want to get your financial records in order. Especially the ones related to your medical bills. That can include copays, deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses for therapy, adjunct therapies, prescription medication bills, and anything else related to your injury. It might be a good idea to calculate lost wages and whatever other financial difficulties you endured and a direct result of the negligence.

Don’t Settle For Less Than You Need

A lot of the time cases never make it to trial. They are usually settled. That’s because all the lawyers involved know what they are doing and settling is the easiest and most affordable way for everyone involved. So there is a good chance that your lawyer will come to you with a settlement offer. However, be careful about signing on the dotted line prematurely

Before you sign, it’s important to get a good idea of what you need to survive. Depending on the severity of your medical malpractice issue, you won’t be able to return to your previous level of employment. If you have to depend on government disability, your standard of living will need to go down significantly. Make sure the settlement at least addresses the major financial issues that you’re dealing with as a consequence of the issue. Otherwise, justice isn’t served and you lose.

If the settlement offer doesn’t come close to meeting your needs, don’t be afraid to turn it down and take it to trial. Especially if it’s a real lowball offer.

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.