Does a Medical Waiver Prevent Patient’s from Suing After Medical Errors?

When you have a medical procedure, it is common practice for you to sign a waiver to ensure that you fully understand the risks. No medical procedure is without the potential of a patient suffering adverse outcomes, even when a medical provider is competent and responsible with their care. This is why waivers and release forms are so commonplace because there are risks to having medical procedures done and medical professionals have to safeguard themselves from legal suits.

In some cases though, when a medical provider acts in a negligent way and a patient is harmed, the waiver may not protect them from a patient’s right to sue. It is best in these situations to connect with an experienced legal professional that understands medical malpractice laws in your state if you sustained injuries from a negligent medical provider. In Ohio, the Cincinnati medical malpractice attorney at The Green Law Firm can help you get a better understanding of your rights and your ability to take legal action.

When Can a Patient Who Signed a Waiver Sue a Medical Provider?

There is an established duty of care that doctors have to their patients. Medical professionals that are administering some type of medical treatment must do so in a way to inflict the least amount of harm to their patients. This does not always mean that a patient will not suffer any harm from a procedure because even when a doctor acts in a reasonable way similar to what any other doctor of the same training and skillset would, there could still be complications.

However, if a doctor did any of the following, they may not be protected from a lawsuit even when a waiver was signed:

• Behaved in a way that was grossly negligent.
• Did not meet the standard of care that was expected.
• Administered treatment outside of an emergency situation that the patient did not consent to.

Examples of gross negligence could be like leaving medical tools inside a patient’s body or operating on a patient while intoxicated. Not meeting the standard of care could be not looking over a patient’s medical history and misdiagnosing them, for example.

There is a significant risk of serious, debilitating, permanent injuries and death from medical mistakes.  So, even when a waiver is signed where the patient acknowledges that there are inherent risks to having their medical procedure done and that if they do suffer those consequences they will not sue the doctor or facility, in some situations, there could still be instances where a medical malpractice claim applies. Every year there are around 20,000 medical malpractice suits filed by patients throughout the United States who suffered harm from medical errors.

Speak with a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Ohio Today

If you believe you were the victim of a medical mistake, you may be able to file a claim for financial compensation. Please reach out to The Green Law Firm to speak with an Ohio medical malpractice attorney during a free consultation. Call today at (513) 769-0840.