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    • Medical Malpractice

    IS ALL WE DO!

    Utah Medical Malpractice Lawyer

    Serving Utah in Salt Lake City, Price and Surrounding Areas


    Questions

     

    Answers

     

    What do I do if my doctor or insurance company asks me to sign an arbitration agreement?

    Arbitration agreements are signed documents, a contract, between the patient and the health care provider in which the patient agrees that if any difficulties result from the treatment they will pursue arbitration rather than suing in court. Many doctors include these in the handful of papers they ask patients to sign before receiving treatment. Health care providers in Utah cannot refuse to treat you if you do not sign the arbitration agreement.

     

    You must be careful. Arbitration is rarely, if ever, advantageous to an injured patient. You have a constitutional right to have a jury trial in a contest between you and a negligent health care provider. If you sign an arbitration agreement you are waiving your constitutional right to a trial by jury.

     

    If you get a request from your insurance company in the mail asking you to sign an arbitration agreement, we suggest you reply by informing it that you intend to retain your constitutional right to a jury trial if your doctor is negligent, and that you are aware of Utah law which prohibits the company from denying you coverage because you will not sign. Another option is to sign the agreement and then rescind it within 30 days, an action which is also valid under Utah law.

    What if I already signed an arbitration agreement?

    One of the medical malpractice lawyers in our Salt Lake City firm recently overheard a doctor tell a patient that arbitration allowed the patient to avoid "getting a lawyer involved." This is not true. Arbitration is just like a lawsuit but only in a forum that is more advantageous to health care providers. Like a lawsuit, arbitration involves months of complex fact-gathering and legal arm-wrestling. Like a lawsuit, expert witnesses must still be hired and testimony from all the relevant parties must be gathered. When it comes time to go before the arbitrator and make your case, you can be sure the doctor will be there with an attorney to plead his defense zealously. An injured patient will not want to enter that trap alone; injured patients need an equally experienced attorney at their table to ensure that the law is properly applied and all of their rights are protected.

     

    Additionally, in some cases the signed arbitration agreement may not be valid. Depending on the language of the agreement and the time it was signed, an injured patient may still have other legal options.

     

    What is medical malpractice?

    Medical malpractice occurs when the medical care a health care provider gives falls below the appropriate standard of the medical profession or the quality of care ordinarily given in the same specialty. Medical malpractice can be as complex as failing to diagnose a disease, or as simple as failing to turn someone over in their hospital bed. Examples of medical malpractice include:

     

    Who can be sued for medical malpractice?

    Medical negligence can occur at the hands of more people than just a doctor or nurse. Hospitals can be held responsible for their policies and practices as well as for the actions of their employees. Nurse practitioners and other members of a doctor's staff are also accountable for their actions while rendering health care. Additionally, pharmacies and laboratories can be negligent in the way they dispense medications or interpret lab results.

     

    What is the statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Utah?

    The statute of limitations is a limit created by the legislature on the amount of time in which you can bring a suit for any injuries suffered as a result of someone's negligence. In Utah, the statute of limitations is two years from the time you discovered the medical malpractice. However, there are exceptions to this limit if the case involves a child, a retained object, or concealment on the part of the health care provider. Statutes of limitations can be difficult to calculate and you should consult a medical malpractice lawyer in Utah before concluding that it is too late to pursue your case.

     

    What types of recovery are available from the law?

    The law provides a remedy for injuries that patients suffer at the hands of negligent medical practitioners called "damages." Patients who are injured because of medical malpractice are entitled to recover both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages can include payment for past and future medical bills, lost wages, and funeral expenses. You may also be entitled to compensation for non-economic damages such as mental, emotional, and physical pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of companionship.

     

    G. Eric Nielson & Associates, LLC
    4790 South Holladay Boulevard
    Salt Lake City, UT 84117
    Ph: (801) 424-9088
    Toll Free: (866) 605-4556
    Fax: (801) 438-0199
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