When you go to your doctor or a hospital for treatment for an injury or illness, you want to feel better quickly. However, that doesn’t always happen. Many patients don’t recover as expected, and some even get worse.

If you were recently treated by a healthcare provider and your symptoms or health condition worsened, you may be wondering what happened—is it just the luck of bad genes, or did your doctor make some error?

Ask yourself the following questions to determine if you might be a victim of medical malpractice.

Did Your Health Worsen After a Treatment?

If your health worsened after a treatment that was supposed to make you feel better, there could be many reasons for that. Some of those reasons involve medical malpractice, including:

• Your doctor prescribed you the wrong medication.
• Your doctor prescribed you the wrong dose of a medication.
• Your doctor prescribed you a medication that contains an ingredient that you’re allergic to, or that reacts poorly with another medication you are prescribed.
• Your doctor misdiagnosed you and treated you for a condition you don’t have.
• Your doctor performed a procedure, operation, or treatment that he or she isn’t licensed or qualified to perform.

It’s important to note that having a bad outcome, including worsening health, after receiving treatment doesn’t always mean that medical malpractice occurred. But in many cases, it does. It’s always worth investigating what happened if your health worsened after a treatment, especially if it was a routine treatment with minimal risks.

Did Your Doctor Seem Rushed or Impatient When Treating You?

Doctors are supposed to take their time and carefully treat their patients with full consideration. When they rush through examinations, treatments, and procedures, they’re more likely to make preventable mistakes. Doctors who don’t give each patient their undivided attention and focus aren’t doing their jobs properly and aren’t giving those patients the care they’re owed.

Did Your Doctor Perform Diagnostic Tests Before Treating You?

Not every health problem requires tests to diagnose or treat. But in many cases, they’re necessary to help doctors choose the right treatments, medications, and even surgeries to help patients feel better. If your doctor never ordered blood work, X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, or any other type of tests or imaging, it could indicate that he or she didn’t follow all recommended steps before treating you, which may have contributed to a misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis.

Did Your Doctor Listen to You and Take Your Concerns Seriously?

While it’s true that doctors are the experts when it comes to health concerns, patients are their own best advocates. It’s important for doctors to not only allow their patients to have a say in their medical treatments and to question their treatment plans to better understand them; they should encourage it. When doctors fail to listen to their patients or even discourage them from speaking up before and during treatments, they can cause patients to suffer serious and preventable harm.

Did You Get a Conflicting Second Opinion?

It’s always a good idea to get a second opinion, especially when your health is at stake. Whether you’re lining up contractors to work on your house or considering doctors to treat your illness or injury, getting a second opinion can help you get a better idea of what’s required and the potential outcome. If you received a conflicting second opinion about your health before your health worsened post-treatment, it could indicate that the doctor who ultimately treated you misdiagnosed you or failed to properly treat you.

Did Your Doctor Not Follow-Up with You After Your Treatment?

Sometimes, medical malpractice occurs not during a patient’s initial treatment, but during post-treatment care. Many treatments require doctors to closely monitor their patients’ recoveries through frequent office visits, examinations, lab tests, and more. If your doctor didn’t follow-up on your recovery, your health may have worsened because of complications that could have been prevented or treated.

Did Another Doctor Tell You that You Might be a Victim of Malpractice?

Getting a second opinion of your condition isn’t just for pre-treatment decisions. It can also be done after you’ve received treatment—especially if you suspect you’re a victim of medical malpractice. The doctor who treated you is extremely unlikely to admit to medical malpractice, but another doctor can evaluate you and may be able to help you determine if you were harmed because of negligence.

We Can Help You Determine if You Were Harmed by Medical Malpractice

Whether you’ve answered yes to all of these questions, just a few, or none at all, it’s still important to get an experienced Oklahoma medical malpractice lawyer on your side. At Parrish DeVaughn Injury Lawyers, we have years of experience building medical malpractice claims, and we know how to quickly and accurately determine when malpractice occurred.

If you suspect you’re a victim, we want to help. Contact us today for a free consultation. It’s our goal to help you get the money you deserve.