Many individuals in Pittsburgh go to a doctor when they experience an injury or illness. The assumption is that the doctor will provide them with the treatment necessary to address that issue. Sometimes that means a patient will need to make more than one trip to a healthcare provider. Patients may not be aware however, that if a physician does not schedule a follow-up appointment of properly facilitate a referral, and something happens to that patient, a medical malpractice lawsuit may be viable.

Patients or their loved ones are filing such cases across the nation. Recently, The Doctors Company, reviewed 2,466 medical claims filed over the course of four years beginning in 2007. It found that 36 percent of the medical malpractice claims were due to patients not following the prescribed treatment or failing to comply with the follow-up calls indicated. What's more, in some cases, the individuals who are filing the lawsuit are finding success.

For instance, the family of a man who died from a heart attack after he left the hospital despite the recommendation that he have a cardiac catheterization procedure filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor who suggested the procedure. The lawsuit alleged that the doctor did not inform the man of how serious his health issue was. Despite the fact that the doctor reportedly did provide that information to the man, because it was not adequately documented in his record, the lawsuit was successful.

As is the case in many matters that prompt medical malpractice lawsuits, a communication failure appears to be to blame for the death of the man. This may in part be due to the different ways in which doctors and patients take in and give out information. Whatever the reason for a medical malpractice lawsuit, injured patients would agree their existence fulfills an important need in today's society.

Source: American Medical News, "Medical liability: Missed follow-ups a potent trigger of lawsuits," Alicia Gallegos, July 15, 2013