Were You Sent Home from the Hospital Too Soon?

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Were You Sent Home from the Hospital Too Soon?

Written by Malman Law, reviewed by Steve J. Malman.

Some people are released from the hospital before they receive all necessary treatment or when there are still risks of complications. Contact a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer if you believe you were prematurely discharged and suffered injuries as a result. 

Medicine has come a long way over the last century. Many conditions and their symptoms don’t require the hospital treatments and lengthy stays that they once did. It’s often preferable for the patient, doctor, and the insurance company to discharge the patient as soon as feasible. However, what happens if it’s too soon?

Some patients will be fine. Other patients can suffer an array of different complications if they leave too soon. Their conditions could deteriorate without proper medical care, but is it medical malpractice? Should you contact a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer for help if you think you were discharged too soon? If you are asking this question, it’s probably worth speaking to one to evaluate your case. 

What is Medical Malpractice?

Not every mistake made by someone with a nursing or medical license is medical malpractice. However, if the medical professional’s actions fall below the accepted medical standard of care in relation to the specific circumstances and cause harm to the patient, it is medical malpractice.  

The “standard of care” describes the type of care that a similarly-skilled medical professional would provide to a patient in the same or similar situation. Depending on the circumstances, sending a patient home from the hospital too soon could be medical malpractice.

Sometimes physicians prematurely discharge patients based on incomplete information because they didn’t take some other course of action. Causes of improper hospital patient discharge include:

1. Failure to perform adequate testing
2. Failure to refer the patient to a specialist when a doctor exhaust their expertise in a certain field
3. Misdiagnosis 
4. Delayed diagnosis 

Discharged Too Soon: Do You Have a Case?

Whether you have a medical malpractice case on your hands is best determined by an experienced Chicago medical malpractice attorney. When you meet with one, they will ask about the specific details of your illness, injury, or procedure and what happened before and after you were discharged. If necessary, your Chicago medical malpractice lawyer will use medical experts to determine if your discharging physician met the standard of care by discharging you.

If your attorney determines that they failed to meet this standard of care, you deserve compensation for your damages. You might be able to receive money for your subsequent medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. 

Hire a Compassionate Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer at Malman Law Today

Without the representation of an experienced Chicago medical malpractice attorney, it is unlikely that you will receive the compensation you deserve for what you have been through. Insurance companies that represent physicians and hospitals fight hard not to pay medical malpractice claims. However, our legal counsel knows how to defeat their tactics. You have nothing to lose by scheduling a case evaluation with us. We offer these for free to potential clients to empower them to get the help they need after an injury. 

The compassionate medical malpractice attorneys at Malman Law are waiting to speak with you. Call (312) 629-0099 or use our online contact form to begin the process of pursuing compensation for you.