When you run a medical business, the potential for lawsuits is something that you need to be prepared for. If a patient feels that you have not provided the right level of care or one of your doctors has made a serious mistake that puts them in danger, they may decide to take legal action against you. Most medical businesses will have to deal with this at some point, but there are steps that you can take to reduce the likelihood of a medical malpractice suit. These lawsuits can get very expensive, so it’s important that you prevent them as much as possible. These are some of the best ways for medical businesses to avoid malpractice lawsuits.
Always Check Licenses When Hiring
When you are hiring doctors, it’s important that they have all of the correct licenses to practice in your chosen state. In most cases, this won’t be an issue but it’s vital that you don’t just take somebody’s word for it when you hire them. If somebody is found to be practicing without the correct license, you are opening yourself up to lawsuits and it will be almost impossible for you to win. Make sure that you see all of the relevant paperwork before hiring anybody, no matter how trustworthy they seem.
Know Your Responsibilities
When a patient takes out a medical malpractice lawsuit against you, they have to prove that you did not provide the expected level of care, which can be tricky because there is a different definition depending on which state you are in. The standard of care according to Georgia law, for example, states that a medical professional must use a ‘reasonable degree of care and skill’ when carrying out a procedure. That’s a fairly broad definition and it can be difficult to prove that a doctor didn’t meet those requirements. However, in other states, the definition of the expected level of care may be more specific. It’s important that you understand exactly what your responsibilities are in the eyes of the law, so you can be sure that you are always meeting them.
Get Informed Consent
Before you carry out any procedure on a patient, it’s vital that you get informed consent from them. This means that you need to discuss the advantages and the potential dangers involved with the procedure before they decide whether they want to move forward with it or not. If a patient does not understand the dangers or side effects of a procedure, they may attempt to sue you if anything goes wrong. It’s important that you always get informed consent in writing so you have legal protection.
Get The Right Insurance
Regardless of the steps that you take to protect yourself, there is always the chance that mistakes can happen and you will find yourself on the end of a lawsuit. In this situation, it’s vital that you have the right insurance in place. If you are ordered to pay a large settlement and you don’t have insurance to cover it, you will find yourself in a very difficult financial situation.
If you run a medical business of any kind, it’s vital that you take these steps to avoid medical malpractice lawsuits.
