If I Have a Bad Doctor While I Am in the Hospital, What Should I Do?
Discovering you have a subpar doctor while hospitalized can be frightening and frustrating. While most hospital physicians provide excellent care, some fall short of medical standards. According to recent studies, medical errors are now the third leading cause of death in U.S. hospitals, making it important to advocate for your care. When you’re concerned about the quality of your hospital doctor’s treatment, you need to know your options and rights. Here’s what you can do if you find yourself under the care of a physician who isn’t meeting professional standards of medical care.
Reasons You Might Be Dissatisfied with Your Doctor
You may come to be dissatisfied with your care for a wide range of reasons. While not every issue you have with a medical professional may be worthy of legal action, the following are potential signs of poor care and medical malpractice.
Poor communication or inaccessibility
Poor communication is among the most common reasons patients feel dissatisfied with their doctor while in the hospital. If your doctor seems rushed, uninterested or fails to explain your condition or treatment plan in a way you can understand, it can lead to feelings of frustration and anxiety. Inaccessible doctors can make it hard for patients to ask questions or voice concerns, leaving them feeling neglected and unsupported.
It is essential to feel comfortable discussing your symptoms and treatment with your healthcare provider. A lack of communication can lead to misunderstandings about your care and impede your recovery process.
Incompetence or Lack of Expertise
In some instances, you may feel that your doctor is not adequately equipped to handle your medical needs. This could manifest as unhelpful or incorrect diagnoses, delays in treatment, misinterpretation of test results, failure to recognize serious symptoms or other medical errors. When you have concerns about an apparent lack of expertise, take them seriously, as they can impact your health outcomes.
Emotional Distress and Neglect
Situations where you notice neglect, such as unresponsiveness to pain complaints or inadequate attention to your medical needs, can worsen your emotional well-being. This kind of experience can lead to feelings of vulnerability, despair, and anxiety about your health.
Failure to Diagnose or Misdiagnosis
A failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis can be particularly alarming. If symptoms are overlooked or misinterpreted, it may result in delayed or inappropriate treatments, exacerbating your condition or lead to sepsis and other life-threatening conditions.. This can leave patients feeling powerless and helpless during an already stressful time in the hospital.
Discriminatory Behavior
Discriminatory behavior from medical staff can manifest in various forms, including unequal treatment based on race, gender, age, or socioeconomic status. Such behavior undermines the trust between patient and doctor and may lead to substandard medical care. Healthcare settings must provide an environment where patients feel valued and respected, regardless of their background.
Discrimination can manifest subtly through dismissive attitudes or deliberate negligence during treatment. If you feel that your concerns are not being taken seriously due to biases regarding your identity, it’s essential to recognize this behavior and have strategies to address it. Feeling unheard or marginalized can severely impact your mental health and overall treatment experience, leaving you feeling alienated in a setting that should provide comfort and care.
Negligence, or Failure to Uphold a Standard of Care
Negligence in a hospital setting can be alarming and often results in serious consequences for patients. A doctor is expected to provide a standard of ethical care that aligns with their training and experience. The standard of care is often considered to be the level of care that the average doctor with a similar level of training would administer. If you suspect that your doctor has failed to uphold this standard, it’s important to recognize the signs.
Negligence may present itself in various ways, including but not limited to inadequate monitoring of your treatment, miscommunication in medication prescription errors or side effects, improperly refusing or delaying treatment, and just inadequate communication in general.
How to File Complaints About a Doctor, Hospital, or Provider
If you feel that you have received poor health care and your health care provider has acted negligently, you should file a complaint as soon as possible.
Where to File a Complaint?
Knowing where to file a complaint is essential when you decide to take action regarding the care you’ve received. Here are some effective channels to consider:
Hospital Administration
Immediately report your concerns to the hospital’s administration. Most hospitals have a patient advocacy or ombudsman department dedicated to addressing patient complaints. You can visit the hospital’s website or ask for the appropriate office upon your discharge. Prepare to present specific examples of what you experienced, as this will help the administration address your complaints effectively.
Medical Board or Licensing Authority
Every state has a medical board responsible for regulating healthcare professionals. If you believe that your doctor’s conduct was unethical or that they acted negligently, file a complaint with your state’s medical board. This body investigates reports of misconduct and can enact disciplinary action if necessary.
Insurance Provider
Your health insurance company can also be a valuable resource. They may require reports on the quality of care you’ve received, and filing a complaint can trigger an investigation. This is particularly important if your care was flagged as unnecessary or if there were issues with billing practices related to your treatment.
Patient Safety Organizations
Patient safety organizations are dedicated to enhancing the quality of healthcare and protecting patients from harm. These organizations collect data, analyze incidents, and develop strategies to improve patient safety and healthcare quality. If you believe you encountered negligent treatment or unsafe practices, consider reaching out to one of these organizations.
What Happens After You File a Complaint?
All avenues in which you may file a complaint involve a lengthy review process. You can rest assured that your current situation will be recorded and reviewed extensively, as different organizations take complaints against medical professionals very seriously. A disclaimer for you: filing a complaint does not guarantee compensation. Not all complaints are fair to healthcare providers, and some are just egregious. If there is a pattern of poor behavior from the party you file a complaint against, you will have a stronger case.
Terminating a Doctor-Patient Relationship
Find yourself in a situation where your doctor’s conduct is alarming, or their treatment does not align with your needs. You might consider terminating the doctor-patient relationship while still in the hospital. Prioritize your health and well-being in such situations. It may be wise to communicate your concerns with them directly before making any drastic moves. If something is more serious, you should seek a follow-up or second opinion from a different doctor that you trust. If these problems persist over time, the best decision may be to request a change for a new doctor or seek a new healthcare provider entirely. Do not decide to change doctors lightly.
Was It Medical Malpractice?
There is a distinct difference between just poor care and medical malpractice. Your caregivers and medical professionals are not negligent just because you aren’t satisfied with your care or if they have bad bedside manners, and it is essential to understand the signs of actual malpractice.
When Poor Medical Care Becomes Malpractice
Not every negative experience with a doctor qualifies as medical malpractice. However, if your doctor’s care falls significantly below accepted medical standards and causes you harm, you may have a malpractice case. Common signs include misdiagnosis, delayed treatment, surgical errors, or failure to obtain informed consent. Document all interactions, treatments, and conversations with your healthcare providers – note specific dates, times, and what was said or done. This documentation is critical if you later need to demonstrate substandard care. Even if you’re unsure whether your experience qualifies as malpractice, consulting with a qualified medical malpractice attorney can help evaluate your situation and outline your legal options.
Is a Hospital Liable for Doctors Who Don’t Listen?
A doctor who fails to respond to their patient’s concerns may be the responsibility of their employer. This is true if you think there is no reason to believe a negligent doctor will improve and that seeking compensation from the doctor alone would not be enough. In some lawsuits, you can jointly sue the doctor and the hospital.
A hospital is likely to be found liable as well if the negligent doctor was their employee or there was apparent authority that the doctor worked for the hospital. This refers to situations where a hospital gives the impression to patients that a physician is an employee of that facility, even if the doctor is technically an independent contractor.
Vicarious Liability of a Hospital for Employee Actions
When it comes to vicarious liability, the fundamental principle is that an employer can be held responsible for the actions of its employees carried out within the scope of their employment. In the context of hospitals, this means that if a doctor employed by the hospital engages in negligent behavior that harms a patient, the hospital can potentially be held liable for the doctor’s actions. This creates an important avenue for patients to seek justice and compensation, and it emphasizes hospitals taking responsibility for the quality of care their staff provides.
Get the Help of Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorneys
If you or a loved one has suffered harm due to medical negligence in the hospital, don’t face this challenging situation alone. The experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Munley Law understand healthcare negligence cases and have a proven track record of holding negligent medical providers accountable.
Contact us today for a free consultation to understand your rights and explore your legal options. Our dedicated team will carefully evaluate your case and fight to get you the compensation you deserve. Call to speak with a medical malpractice lawyer who can help protect your rights and future. We work on a contingency fee basis; you don’t pay if we don’t win.
