If your Calgary medical professional makes a mistake in your care, how should you approach them? A malpractice lawyer weighs in.
We enjoy some of the best healthcare in the world here in Calgary, and that’s due in large part to the skill and dedication of our surgeons, physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals that treat patients throughout the Greater Calgary Area. Many of us count our doctors among our personal friends, and hopefully all of us have a great deal of respect for the medical professionals that help keep us healthy.
Everyone is human, though, and medical professionals can make mistakes. Rarely do those mistakes rise to the level of malpractice—to do so, a Calgary doctor or other healthcare provider has to act negligently and through that negligence, cause harm—but when they do the consequences can be devastating. Not only can an instance of medical malpractice leave you with pain, limited abilities, substantial financial burdens, and other disruptions to your life and your family, but they can erode your trust in Calgary’s medical institutions. Many who fall victim to medical malpractice feel a profound sense of anger and hurt directed toward the individuals and organizations that were supposed to protect their well-being.
In such circumstances, it’s natural to want to speak to your doctor and/or to someone who’s “in charge” at the Calgary hospital or medical office where you believe the malpractice occurred. You want to express your feelings, demand immediate answers, and feel some sense of satisfaction.
As some of Calgary’s most experienced medical malpractice and personal injury lawyers, we can tell you: it won’t work.
Personal Contact in Calgary Medical Malpractice Cases is NOT Recommended
In any case involving a disagreement about potential misconduct, personal contact between the parties involved is never recommended without the presence of a mediator at the very least, and typically is not recommended without the presence of a knowledgeable legal advocate (such as a lawyer) for each of the parties present. This is the best way to protect your rights, and to ensure that the outcome reached is fair for all parties involved.
What you want to happen on a phone call with your doctor or hospital is to receive an explanation, an apology, and a promise of how the party you feel is responsible for your injuries will make things right. What you’ll almost certainly get instead is an end to any conversation as soon as you mention the word “malpractice.” Once that accusation is in the air, Calgary medical offices and professionals will do what they need to do to protect their legal interests, and they know that means no contact.
You Can ALWAYS Contact a Calgary Medical Malpractice Lawyer
In Part 2 of this article, we’ll look at other reasons why attempting to talk to your doctor after a possible instance of malpractice is a bad idea. In the meantime, if you suspect that you or your family has been the victim of medical malpractice, please contact our office for a free initial consultation.