When interviewing firms to take on your medical malpractice case, there is more to just the number of cases, the firm has won (or is taking on), it is the ability to anticipate a doctor’s (or a hospital’s) defenses and being able to defeat them in order to vindicate you.
If your lawyers are able to do this, the better your chances are of recovering the compensation you deserve for the harm you have suffered. With that, this post will highlight some of the common defenses those accused of medical negligence may use against you.
You did not follow your doctor’s recommendations – You may be accused of contributory negligence by not following the recommendations given to you when you were examined or discharged from medical care. Indeed, there may a mistake made by the hospital that may have led to your mistake, but not following a prescription or a medication regimen is one of the most common ways a physician with try to defeat your claim.
The statute of limitations has run – In the state of Pennsylvania, people who seek compensation for medical malpractice only have a certain amount of time to bring a lawsuit. Once that time passes, claims are essentially “time barred,” meaning that a medical malpractice victim loses the ability to seek legal redress of his or her claims. However, a claim could be tolled if the patient could not have reasonably known that his or her condition was a result of medical malpractice.
If you have additional questions about medical malpractice defenses, an experienced attorney can advise you.