Virginia Medical Malpractice Blog - Williamson & Lavecchia, L.C.

Treating the Medical Hit and Run

I just read an insightful article in the Huffington Post about medical malpractice titled "Treating the Medical Hit and Run."  A medical hit and run is when a doctor or hospital causes a preventable injury or death and then denies that anything happened.  Medical hit and runs occur all the time.  Hospital investigations are performed behind closed doors and rarely are the results shared with the patient.  In fact there is a Virginia law that allows hospitals to keep their investigations secretive. 

For many families the only avenue to the truth is through a medical malpractice lawsuit.  In some cases we are able to obtain the results of these closed door investigations.  In almost all cases we take the depositions of the health care providers.  Does the truth always come out? Unfortunately no.  However, more often than not we learn important facts that were not shared with the family.  Perhaps the most important result of a medical malpractice case is that when these facts are shown in full day light the hospital or doctor will be more inclined to take steps to protect other patients.  In one case involving a serious pressure ulcer, I was told by a representative of the hospital that they made changes to protect other patients from developing life threatening pressure ulcers.

I encourage you to read the article and share your thoughts on our blog.  If you have particular questions, please click here to contact us.

Regards,

Joshua Silverman