I get several calls a week from patients, of family members of patients, who are concerned about the care that they, or their family member, have received from their doctor or hospital.
In most cases, a careful investigation of the facts reveals that there are no grounds for a medical malpractice claim (in other words, the doctor or hospital wasn’t negligent) or that there may have been negligence in the patient’s care, but the cost of filing a lawsuit would be more than the potential recovery.
Explaining these facts to my clients is one of the more frustrating aspects of being a medical malpractice lawyer. I hate telling patients that I believe there was negligence in the care they received but that I don’t think they should pursue a compensation claim.
My colleague Ches Crosbie has posted about this problem at the Newfoundland Injury Law Blog. Ches is one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s finest medical malpractice lawyers. He points out that the decision to accept or reject a client who has a medical malpractice claim is always difficult.
College of Physicians and Surgeons
However, if you are not satisfied with the care that you or your family has received, you can file a complaint with the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Each province has a College of Physicians and Surgeons that is made up of a panel of doctors and lay persons (non doctors) who are responsible for hearing complaints about doctor’s conduct and administering discipline.
Discipline can range from something as simple as giving the doctor a warning to as serious as suspending the doctor’s license or taking away the doctor’s license to practice medicine in that province.
File a Complaint About the Doctor!
I encourage patients and family members who are concerned about a doctor’s conduct to contact the College of Physicians and Surgeons to express their concerns. Often the patients don’t follow through with the complaint. I think this is a real mistake.
There are certain doctors who I regularly receive calls about. However, if the patients don’t file a complaint with the College of Physicians and Surgeons, there is no way for the College to know about any potential concerns about the doctor’s conduct.
When a patient finally files a complaint the College may not take the complaint seriously because it is the first complaint received about a particular doctor. The Board members’ reasoning may be something like: “Well, we have only received one complaint about his/ her conduct. Lets give the doctor a warning to make sure it doesn’t happen again”.
On the other hand, if the College has received a half dozen or more complaints about the same doctor they will be far more likely to take the complaint seriously and more likely to administer more severe discipline to the doctor.
Ches gives some good advice about what type of information should be contained in a complaint to the College of Physicians and Surgeons. I would recommend anyone considering filing a complaint to take a look at his post.
Go to Source
Related posts
- Are Results of Academic Medical Center Reasearch Hyped? (In a recent posting on the Wall Street Journal Health Blog, Sarah Rubenstein explores the selective details in press releases from academic medical centers She summarizes an examination by the Annals of Internal Medicine that concluded that such press releases may hype or exaggerate the research results and "often promote research that has uncertain relevance [...])
- Detached Retina May Be Medical Emergency (According to a recent Johns Hopkins University Health Alert, a detached retina may be a medical emergency that can result in blindness. As you edge over age 40, the vitreous -- the clear gel-like substance inside your eyes -- begins to liquify and shrink. Within the gel are millions of fibers attached to the retina, [...])
- Propylthiouracil Poses Serious Liver Injury (Posted by: Salvatore J. Zambri, Esquire and Catherine Bertram, Esquire
An U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report confirms that, two days ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "warned health care professionals about the risk of serious liver injury associated with the use of the anti-thyroid drug propylthiouracil for the treatment of Graves' [...])
- Medical Malpractice (In the United States, medical malpractice is a growing problem. Medical malpractice is a medical act or decision made by a doctor or health care provider that deviates from what is accepted as a standard of practice in the medical community and leads to injury or death. Medical malpractice can result from negligence from the [...])
- Man From West Sacramento Files Medical Malpractice Action, Part 2 of 4 ((Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of this medical malpractice case and its proceedings.)
The following four blog entries follow-up the previous two entries from July. These entries address the same issues, but do so from the defense side. By comparing the entries readers [...])
- Husband And Sister Sue For Wrongful Death At Sacramento Hospital, Part 4 of 6 ((Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)
The mother in Wilks was not present at the exact moment of the specific act of negligence In Wilks, the child was injured; but the mother could claim emotional distress because of a continuing event. Consequently, [...])
- The Difference between Misdiagnosis and Failure to Diagnose (From a victim’s standpoint, there may not seem to be much difference between a doctor misdiagnosing your ailment and failing to diagnose it altogether. Either one could potentially result in injury and a subsequent medical malpractice claim, right? While this part is true, the law makes a clear distinction between the two.
Misdiagnosing an illness typically [...])
- Insurance Companies Part In The Medical Reform Debate Needs To Be Watched (For many Americans, the Obama administration directive to seriously attack the heath care crisis was a welcomed plan. There is no doubt that costs are continuing to rise and more and more people are in need of help paying for their care. As always, there will be groups that will want to gain financially from [...])
- Verdict Against Sacramento Physician For Malpractice, Part 4 of 4 ((Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)
Question: Are medical malpractice plaintiffs eligible to recover prejudgment interest on their jury award when their statutory offer to settle has been rejected?
F. Plaintiff Received a More Favorable Verdict as Compared to the 998 Offer:
Whether the [...])
- How Often Does Medical Malpractice Happen in Canada? (How often does medical malpractice happen in Canada?
The short answer is that the law suits that are filed in court are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to medical malpractice claims in Canada.
medical malpractice claims in Canada tend to get a lot of attention in the media. Everyone is concerned about [...])
- No “Wrongful Life” in Canada: Supreme Court (In Canada there is no such thing as a claim for "wrongful life". In a ruling released last week, the Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to appeal a Court of Appeal decision that confirmed that Canadian law does not recognize the tort of "wrongful life" as a legitimate cause of action.
In Hergott, et al. [...])
- Successful Trial Techniques – Using Technology In The Courtroom (As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I am often asked what contributes to my success. Certainly hard work comes first. But there are also various ways that can improve the odds of being successful in the courtroom. One way is to use computerized technology in the courtroom. [...])
- “Incompetent” Doctor Ordered to Undergo Retraining Appeals: Cape Breton (Cape Breton Doctor Incompetent
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia found Dr. Stani Osif guilty of professional misconduct and professional incompetence under the Nova Scotia Medical Act. I posted about the charges a couple of months ago: Cape Breton Doctor so "Incompetent" no Training Program can Help: College of Physicians.
Osif Ordered [...])
- Justice In Texas Points Out The Injustice Of The Law (The first week of July in Harris County, Texas, a man who lost his leg from mid-thigh down, part of his right foot and all of his fingers received a verdict of $10 million. The man was injured after an allergic reaction to Heprin. Under the present law in Texas, he would have really received [...])
- FDA Warns of Dangers of Sirolimus (Rapamune) for Liver Transplant Patients (Posted by: Salvatore J. Zambri, Esquire and Catherine Bertram, Esquire
Recently, MedPage Today reported that "The FDA issued an alert regarding the risk of increased mortality in stable liver transplant patients who switch from a calcineurin inhibitor-based (CNI) immunosuppressive regimen to sirolimus (Rapamune)." It was noted, however, "that a causal relationship has not been established and [...])
- What Is Medical Malpractice? (In the United States, medical malpractice is a growing problem. Medical malpractice is a medical act or decision made by a doctor or health care provider that deviates from what is accepted as a standard of practice in the medical community and leads to injury or death. Medical malpractice can result from negligence from the [...])
- Child Suffers Permanent Brain Damage At Sacramento-area Hospital, Part 8 of 9 ((Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)
THE ISSUE OF VERDICT BASED ON INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
The Defendants' Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Motion for New Trial contends that there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict in favor of [...])
- Nevada May Be Teaching The Rest Of The Country That Damage Caps Aren’t Good For Consumers (In 2004, Nevada passed damage caps of $350,000 as part of a legal reform package. It always amazes me when tort reform doublespeak convinces people that the remedy to frivolous lawsuits is to put a cap on the biggest and most harmful cases. But, all it does is reveal what the "reformers" really want to [...])
- What Do I Have to Prove to Win My Medical Malpractice Case in Canada? (When someone dies or is seriously injured in a hospital, or after receiving medical care, it is human nature to feel that someone is responsible, that someone is to blame.
But from a legal standpoint, it may not actually be possible to prove that someone is liable (legally responsible) for the death or injury.
There are [...])
- FDA Warning: Don’t Purchase or Use New Whey Liquid Products or Hardcore Energize Bullet (Posted by: Salvatore J. Zambri, Esquire
The FDA has warned consumers not to buy or use Hardcore Energize Bullet or New Whey liquid products sold in test tube-like vials, as a result of suspected product tampering. The products are being recalled.
According to the FDA, "The suspected tampering involved a utility knife blade found in one vial of [...])
- Sacramento Doctors Sued For Malpractice, Part 1 of 4 ((Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of this medical malpractice case and its proceedings.)
The following blog entries follow-up the previous two entries from July. These entries address the same issues, but do so from the defense side. By comparing the entries readers should [...])
- Sacramento-area Family Files Medical Malpractice Action, Part 9 of 9 ((Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)
DAMAGES
As to Alexandra, the damage to his body speaks for itself. Plaintiffs presented substantial and credible evidence on this issue with the testimony of Dr. Peter W., Dr. Nathaniel T., Dr. Paul U., and Dr. Marilyn S.. [...])
- Medication Errors (Each year an astounding 1.3 million people are injured in the US due to medication errors. According to The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention, a medication error is defined as “any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the [...])
- Expert Testimony Required In Sacramento Medical Malpractice Case,Part 3 of 4 ((Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of this medical malpractice case and its proceedings.)
The following four blog entries follow-up the previous two entries from July. These entries address the same issues, but do so from the defense side. By comparing the entries readers [...])
- Vascular Injuries – Medical Malpractice (A Frederick County jury has awarded almost $1.37 million to a woman who suffers severe and chronic leg pain and must take a blood thinner each day, after a diagnostic test left her with vascular injuries. The jury found that a doctor negligently performed a laparoscopy to determine the cause of the woman’s ovarian [...])
Tagged as:
attorney,
doctors,
injury,
lawsuit,
lawyer,
lawyers,
Medical Malpractice,
patients
