No one in Pennsylvania is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. Some of these mistakes do not have a great effect on the person or those around them and people move on easily. Other mistakes have lasting consequences for the person making the mistake and those around them. When doctors and medical professionals make mistakes many times it is the latter situation and patients may suffer lasting consequences because of the mistake.
People trust that doctors and other medical professionals will also do their job correctly and after leaving the hospital they will be better than when they went in. However, these people are human as well and unfortunately mistakes are made in diagnosing problems, performing surgeries, prescribing medication and in other situations. However, just because of the fact that no one is perfect, does not relieve these individuals from liability for their mistakes.
In many situations, victims of these mistakes are able to obtain compensation for their injuries from the doctors and medical professionals who made the mistake. This is generally accomplished through a medical malpractice lawsuit. The victims only have a limited time to file these though after suffering the injuries. These types of lawsuits are based on the negligence of the medical professional in performing their job and therefore must be commenced within two years of the medical professional’s negligence.
The majority of people in Pennsylvania who go to medical professionals do ultimately get better. Unfortunately this is not true for everyone though and mistakes are made while the person is in the care of medical professionals. Sometimes their condition is much worse afterwards. These people may be entitled to compensation for their injuries, but the victim must act relatively quickly. Experienced attorneys understand the process and may be able to guide one through it.
Source: Pennsylvania State Legislature, “§ 5524 Two year limitation” accessed on July 3, 2017