When we go for medical care, we believe we’re going to be taken care of. From an ankle injury to a serious illness like cancer, we never think that there will be a problem with the care we’ve received. When we don’t feel better, feel worse, or something else develops, we make another appointment. It may not occur to you that you’ve been mistreated or treated negligently by your healthcare provider.
Like many other professions, medical personnel make mistakes. In the interest of protecting themselves and their practice, some may try to cover up these mistakes, even if it means you’ll suffer the consequences.
Doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers have malpractice insurance and aggressive defense attorneys to protect them in the event they’ve been sued for malpractice. Shouldn’t you have the same protection as a patient?
Preparing Your Medical Malpractice Case
When it’s time to begin the process of filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in Kansas City, there are some steps you need to take.
- Request a copy of all of your medical records. This will prevent anyone from altering your records in the event of a malpractice incident.
- Find a new physician, with a referral if necessary. Should your current physician suspect you plan to sue, they may alter your records in order to prevent you from having a successful outcome. Prevent this by working with a new physician, after you’ve received copies of your medical records.
- Make sure to continue any prescribed medical treatments. You need to continue to have treatment with your new physician, which will also show the extent of the malpractice you suffered.
- Keep a journal of everything related to your case. A written record of everything will ensure that you won’t forget important details. Using a cloud service like Dropbox or Google Drive will ensure that your records are kept safely away from harm, and available anytime.
- Find a Kansas City Medical Malpractice attorney to work with you to file your lawsuit. Do this as soon as you can, since building a case and finding records takes a considerable amount of time. Note that the statute of limitations is two years from the date of the injury, with certain exceptions. Lawsuits on behalf of minors must be filed before the child’s 20th birthday.
An Additional Affidavit
If you’re planning to file a lawsuit, Missouri requires you to file an affidavit from another legally qualified healthcare provider who can confirm that:
- The defendant (your health care provider) failed to provide the kind of treatment to the plaintiff that a "reasonably prudent and careful health care provider would have under similar circumstances," and
- This provider’s failure caused or contributed to the injury and detriment detailed in the lawsuit.
Missouri Revised Statutes section 538.225 also requires that you file the affidavit within 90 days of the date of the lawsuit, unless you can show “good cause.” Without the affidavit, the court will dismiss your lawsuit.
Let Popham Handle Your KC Medical Malpractice Case
Our goal is to help people who have been harmed at the hands of negligent medical professionals, and work to get them the best outcome possible. Since 1918, The Popham Law Firm has represented people who have experienced the difficulties of medical malpractice. We have attorneys that specialize in this very complicated and technical field of law. Contact us for an appointment at (844) 243-2288 or use our online contact form.
