After you come out of the operating room, you may realize some few things amiss with the way your body normally functions. But the problem comes in when you want to start questioning what is wrong; almost all of the time, patients don’t know what to ask about the way their bodies are behaving after visiting their doctors, or health practitioners. And the same issue persists to whether you should file a malpractice claim and the questions you should ask the medical malpractice lawyers Toronto about a medical malpractice claim. Below are five contexts that you can refer to and get the right answers if you have any doubts about filing a medical malpractice claim.
- What you need to have to prove your medical malpractice claim.
For one, you need to be able to prove that the doctor who handled you used standards that fell below the care that you should have had. If you can prove that the doctor was negligent when handling your medical situation. Negligence is another one of the medical malpractices practiced by some doctors which can end up harming you, as the patient. You need to prove that it is due to the doctor’s negligence that you suffered any medical injuries. These injuries are the causation as a result of the negligence. In most cases, expert reports will be required for you to be able to prove negligence and causation. The fact that you suffered some serious complications as a result of an operation doesn’t at all cover it. You have to be able to prove that the injuries suffered were as a result of the doctor’s negligence.
- Is it possible to sue the hospital but exclude the doctor?
You need to know that all of the errors that occur in hospitals are, in most cases, as a result of the doctors and nurses, or the doctors or nurses separately. Either way, it is always not easy to notice who caused the error that led to the injuries that you suffered. And another fact you need to be aware of is that most of the doctors that you see in hospitals are not always the employees of most of the Health Authority that operate in the hospitals as opposed to the nurses. For this, they have some privileges at these hospitals. And for this reason, the doctors who are not employees at the hospitals where they handle patients are liable for any medical malpractice claim filed against them and not the hospital. It is always recommended that you sue both the doctor and the hospital.
- If your claim is successful, then who pays?
In Canada, all the doctors are covered by Canadian Medical Protective Association. This is an organization that is funded by yearly fees from the provincial government subsidies and the physicians. The company defends all the Canadian doctors. Other medical practitioners like dentists and chiropractors need to have liability insurance in place in case such a case falls on them.
- The amount of time you have to sue
In Canada, the medical malpractice law states that you should have filed a case within a two-year timeframe of the negligent procedure. If it is your child who was the victim of the medical malpractice, then this two-year timeframe only begins to run after he/she turns 19. There are instances where this timeframe can be delayed. And that is when you didn’t know about the negligence issue by your doctor until a later date.
- If your doctor apologizes, does it mean he/she is admitting responsibility?
The answer to this question is NO? No law in Canada states that issuing an apology is admission to liability.
