Medical Attorney

Why You Need the Help of a Specialised Medical Attorney in South Africa

You were injured in a vehicle accident and taken to one of the public hospitals in South Africa. However, you did not receive any type of medical care for a period of at least three hours. Your family members intervened and, eventually, you did receive very basic emergency care. However, you did not suffer long-term physical injury as the result of the lack of medical care. Can you still take legal steps against the hospital for not providing you emergency care?

A medical attorney can answer the above and many other questions. Far too many South Africans suffer physical injury and damages because of the actions or lack thereof by healthcare providers in South Africa. Lack of trained healthcare staff, broken equipment, general lack of care about the welfare of patients, and many other factors contribute to the poor state of South African public hospitals.

If you are one of the people in the country who cannot afford medical aid you, most probably, also need to make use of public healthcare facilities. This means that you, just like millions of other South Africans, are at the mercy of a broken healthcare system. It puts you at risk of not receiving essential emergency care when you need such.

Knowing that you can approach a medical attorney to help you get compensation for physical injuries suffered as the result of medical negligence or malpractice at one of the public hospitals is essential. Unless you have the help of an experienced medical attorney in claiming compensation and taking legal steps against the relevant parties, your claim may go unpaid.

Medical law is complex, and it is often difficult to prove that the injuries are the result of the action or lack thereof by a healthcare provider. Healthcare providers can easily lose medical records or make it difficult for you to access such. They can change records and thus provide altered records when you request the documents from them. An experienced medical attorney knows how to go about in collecting records and addressing fraud on the part of the healthcare provider regarding medical records. Such an attorney also follows the correct legal steps in obtaining records and medical expert opinion.

The attorney knows how to assess your particular case to determine its merits and advise you on the merits of your claim. Such a lawyer also negotiates settlements as relevant to ensure you get the compensation you deserve. If your case is not strong enough to ensure a successful outcome without a lengthy court battle, you can rest assured that the attorney will tell you to prevent you from spending unnecessary time and resources in seeking legal recourse.

To ensure that the medical attorney can assess your particular claim regarding negligence or malpractice, you need to provide as much as possible information and supporting documents at your first consultation. Write down a summary of what has happened and why you think that you are a victim of negligence or malpractice. Provide the contact details of the practitioner(s) and hospital administration as relevant. Write down the dates of visits or hospitalisation, treatments received, and injuries suffered.

If you have suffered physical injury because of substandard medical care, lack of care, or a mistake made by a healthcare provider or institution, contact Adele van der Walt Incorporated today.

Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Call on our attorneys for legal advice, rather than relying on the information herein to make any decisions. The information is relevant to the date of publishing – December 2018.

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