When you’ve been harmed by a doctor’s negligence, you should consider taking legal action. If you’re successful in doing so, you might acquire a sense of accountability and closure while securing compensation to offset losses tied to additional medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering. But success isn’t guaranteed in these cases. In fact, there’s a good chance that you’re going to go up against aggressive defense strategies that may threaten the viability of your medical malpractice claim.
Be prepared to square off against these medical malpractice defenses
Depending on the facts of your case, there may be multiple medical malpractice defenses that you’ll face. These can include:
- That the applicable standard of care was met and that any resulting harm was simply an unfortunate side effect of that care.
- That your injuries were caused or exacerbated by something other than the medical care that you received.
- That your own negligence, such as by failing to adhere to aftercare instructions, contributed to or outright caused your harm.
- That the doctor used a medical technique that’s recognized by a respectable minority of the medical community.
- That you knew of the risks associated with the applicable care of treatment and consented to it, thereby assuming the risk of harm that ultimately came to fruition.
- That the time for filing and pursuing your claim has expired pursuant to the statute of limitations.
The defense will also do everything they can to try to attack the credibility and reliability of your evidence. So, you should be prepared to counter their arguments in that respect, too.
Build a comprehensive medical malpractice claim
If you want to maximize your chances of winning your medical malpractice case, then you have to be prepared to address every legal nuance you may face, including those that are applicable to medical malpractice defenses. Fortunately, you can work with your medical malpractice attorney to build the holistic case needed to fully protect your interests.