For many people, their family matters more than anything else. You might enjoy spending time with your spouse or partner, your kids, and any other family members with whom you live. You’d probably do just about anything for them.
Maybe a doctor misdiagnosed you, and now you’re dealing with an injury. You know it was the doctor’s fault, and you want to bring a malpractice lawsuit against them (Forbes).
It’s not a bad idea, but you should understand that this will impact your family in certain ways. We’ll talk about some of those right now, so you’re ready for them as you prepare to take the doctor to court.
You Might Lose a Great Deal of Money
Let’s say you’re getting ready to pursue a doctor’s malpractice lawsuit.
Perhaps the doctor:
• Gave you unnecessary surgery
• Prescribed you the wrong medication
• Misdiagnosed you, leading to your condition worsening
These sorts of things sound inconceivable, but they happen pretty often. Doctors are human, and they definitely make mistakes.
You are within your rights if you decide to hire a lawyer and take that doctor to court. You might need to recoup lost wage money, medical expenses, physical therapy bills, etc. (WebMD)
However, you could lose money if you lose the lawsuit, depending on the lawyer fee structure to which you agreed. If you pay your lawyer according to a contingency plan, you should be fine. If you lose, you won’t have any additional money, but at least you will not lose any.
If you pay your lawyer an hourly or flat fee and lose, that could be an unmitigated disaster. Now, you have even less money than when you started.
This can hurt your family significantly. That’s why you need to ensure that if you pursue this lawsuit variety, you set up a contingency payment plan.
This Will Take Up a Lot of Your Time
Your family should also know that lawsuits take time. You might have to:
• Miss work for a while
• Spend time with your lawyer
• Spend time in court
Complexities with medical malpractice suits occur often. The doctor you accuse will doubtless defend themselves, and they might call expert witnesses or bring evidence to refute your claims (Cornell). Their reputation could be on the line.
This entire process might take weeks or months. You’ll have to meet with your lawyer in their offices to discuss your strategy. Then, there are all the courtroom appearances and the appeals process after the verdict.
Your family members will have to keep up their routines while you are out of action. Maybe you’re not working, so you’re not bringing in money. Your spouse or partner and the other adult family members will have to pick up the slack.
They will probably have to pick up the kids from school, cook most of the meals, clean the house, and more. It will not be easy on any of them when you are not around. They might understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, but this will be a distinct challenge for them.
You Might Face Depression if You Lose
You might take weeks or months to pursue the lawsuit, and then you may lose in the end. Maybe the jury thinks that there is not sufficient evidence that malpractice occurred.
If that happens, there will be more than financial consequences. You might come away feeling that the system cheated you.
According to Good Therapy, You might have to seek therapy to regain the right mental condition to resume your life. Maybe, regardless of the verdict, you don’t have the physical capabilities you once did.
Your adjustment will not be easy, and your family members might feel bad for you. If you can’t be the same person you were, it impacts not just you but all of them as well.
Your Family Can Draw Together, or It Can Come Apart
You pursuing this lawsuit might become your whole life. Regardless of whether you win in the end, it will change every part of your daily activities, and so it must change your family’s whole routine as well.
During challenging times, families can either draw together or they can fragment. Before you start the whole lawsuit process, you might get the entire family together and talk to them about how difficult it will be. You might try to make them understand that you’re going to tackle this enormous, all-consuming endeavor, and you will rely on them to help you like never before.
Ideally, they will pledge to have your back; regardless of what happens, your family will come through it stronger than ever. Your family members will understand how much this means to you, and they will want you to seek justice and compensation for what happened to you.
If you have one, your spouse or partner will take a more significant role in taking care of the kids than normal. The kids, for their part, will behave themselves, keep their rooms clean, help around the house, and do their homework.
Medical malpractice lawsuits are seldom easy. You have to prove to a jury that the doctor, nurse, hospital, or whatever other individual or medical entity harmed you. You will probably face many probing questions and need to produce material evidence to back up your claims.
If a doctor or other individual or entity harmed you, you shouldn’t just get back to the daily routine without trying to hold them responsible. This is your life we’re talking about, and you might never be quite the same after what they did.
The least they can do is pay for their mistake. You have to hope you can count on your whole family to help you tackle one of your life’s greatest challenges. You might all come through and be in a better place in the end.