If an Oklahoma doctor or other medical professional makes a mistake that leads to a patient being harmed, a malpractice suit may be filed. However, most people choose to resolve the matter without going to court as only one in eight will actually file a lawsuit. According to research done on who files malpractice suits, those who were poor, uninsured or had Medicaid were actually less likely to sue.
Far less than 1 percent of all health care costs are dedicated to defending against malpractice claims. To reduce the odds of having to spend any money on malpractice cases, there are steps that doctors can take. First, it is important to document actions as much as possible. This is because its hard to prove that something was done if there is no record of it.
If documentation comes in the form of notes written by hand, they should be legible. Notes that are written in a manner that can’t be easily read could lead to errors or other questions about what was done about a patient’s care. Regardless of whether notes are handwritten or put into a computer, it is important that there is communication between everyone who cares for a patient. This is true whether that individual is a social worker, a primary care physician or a specialist.
Doctors are human, and unfortunately, misdiagnoses and other medical errors occur. In order for such a mistake to rise to the level of malpractice, several things must be established. One important determination is whether the practitioner failed to exhibit the requisite standard of care, and attorneys for harmed patients will review hospital records and obtain the opinions of medical experts in order to show this.