When Doctors Hide Their Malpractice
Different people have different opinions about their doctors. This often depends on past experiences with medical treatments and what people have heard others say about doctors. Some people trust their doctors fully, while others remain skeptical and see doctors as fallible as anyone else. What many people may not realize is how some doctors evade medical malpractice charges by hiding their mistakes through lies and deception. If you feel like you have been deceived, try contacting a Central New York Medical Malpractice Attorney to see if we can figure out the truth.
Can Doctors Still Practice After Malpractice?
When a doctor makes a mistake or intentionally breaches the duty of care, the medical board in that doctor’s state is often the one to discipline that doctor. Some doctors can lose their license, but other doctors are allowed to continue practicing medicine after certain disciplinary practices are put in place.
One example of a doctor continuing his career despite making serious medical mistakes involved two 
mothers. A gynecologist in Southern California was supposed to remove cystic ovary from two women but had removed the healthy ovary instead. No additional treatment was given to one woman, even though she had continued to experience pain after the surgery. This physician did not lose his license, even though both mothers had died.
This may leave you wondering what you can do to avoid experiencing malpractice as a patient yourself. Being aware of the different types of malpractice out there can help you develop an eye for red flags. Common examples of medical malpractice include giving a wrong diagnosis, the wrong dose of medicine, doctor substance abuse, and sexual assault.
How Much Can I Trust My Doctor?
To determine how much you should trust your doctor, you need to examine ulterior motives. No one wants to be sued or have their reputation dismantled. Doctors are humans too who are capable of making mistakes, despite years of training. The ulterior motives of doctors to lie and cover up their malpractice is strongly tied to protecting their reputation, license, their employer, and finances.
Hospitals and other medical institutions themselves fear losing patients because of malpractice by one of their staff members. This can motivate them to help the staff member cover up their mistakes.
When it comes to training to enter the medical field, at least 50 percent of students witnessed medical colleagues being taunted for errors and staff members avoiding responsibility for their own errors. This kind of experience can discourage medical students from admitting to malpractice when they become physicians.
How You Can Tell if Your Doctor Made a Mistake
You may not always be sure whether your doctor has made a mistake. In fact, it is more common than you might think for physicians to pass off their medical mistakes as routine side effects or symptoms associated with any particular type of treatment or surgical intervention. The doctor may suggest that there was a small complication, for example, when, in all actuality, they made a serious medical mistake.
Unfortunately, far too many patients put their trust in their healthcare providers’ hands and their doctors’ words at face value. If the doctor says that nothing unusual happened, you may not even know that you should be questioning their actions. If your healthcare provider is attempting to hide a medical mistake or error, you cannot rely on them to be honest with you.
For this reason, the best way to tell whether you are a victim of a doctor’s medical mistake is by consulting a highly experienced medical malpractice attorney. Our personal injury team can work with medical experts to determine whether your physician deviated from the standard of care as described by the Federation of State Medical Boards and understands their medical responsibilities. Once we have reviewed the specific circumstances of your case, we will have a better idea of whether you are a victim of medical malpractice or negligence.
Proving Your Doctor’s Medical Error
Your medical malpractice case will not be successful unless we can prove that your doctor breached the medical standard of care. In this case, if your doctor made a medical decision that another reasonable physician of similar job training, experience, and education would not have made, the standard of care may have been violated. We will need to carefully review your medical records, consult with other healthcare providers, and enlist the testimony of other medical experts to determine whether the physician in your case deviated from the medical standard of care, ultimately causing you serious bodily injury, illness, or death.
Steps to Take if You Believe Your Doctor is Hiding Their Malpractice
If you have reason to believe your doctor is hiding a medical mistake, it is important to take action as soon as possible. Remember, your doctor is unlikely to accept responsibility for their actions or answer additional questions, and they may even attempt to blame your illness or injury on something else entirely. This is a strong indicator that your physician knows that they have made an error and are refusing to hold themselves accountable for their negligence.
Connecting with a reputable medical malpractice attorney is the first step. Your legal advocate can connect you with medical experts and trusted healthcare providers who can help you get the medical treatment you may need so you can heal from your injury or illness. Our medical experts will also review your medical records and determine whether you have the right to take legal action.
Make sure you follow your new doctor’s healthcare treatment protocol so your old doctor cannot attempt to use it against you and reduce their financial liability. We may be able to avoid going to trial by filing a medical malpractice insurance claim. However, if your previous doctor does not have sufficient medical malpractice coverage, bringing your case to court may be the only way to ensure you maximize your compensation and potentially prevent other patients from this dangerous healthcare provider.
Get Help From a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in New York
Dealing with the aftermath of a serious medical error by your doctor can be stressful for almost anyone. Consider hiring a North Syracuse Personal Injury Lawyer if you suffered physical and financial damages from medical malpractice. Depending on what happened, you may be eligible to receive compensation for your injuries, pain and suffering, and lost wages.
At Gattuso & Ciotoli, we have over 50 years of experience with personal injury lawsuits. Contact us today at (315) 314-8000 for a free consultation. We are located in Central New York, Syracuse, Watertown, Binghamton, Syracuse, North Syracuse, Camillus, Liverpool, Cortland, and Auburn.