Medical professionals should always give their patients and coworkers the respect they deserve. This is especially true when they are performing their duties in the surgical arena. After all, it is very difficult for anyone to do their best if they feel they are in some way being compromised by a co-worker. Unfortunately, it may be that doctors and other medical professionals do not always exhibit the best behavior.
According to experts, 5 percent of physicians engage in some form of disruptive behavior. Often this behavior takes the form of verbal abuse directed at fellow staff members. This is extremely disturbing in that a health care accrediting organization attributes the majority of serious medical incidents that involve death or other negative outcomes to communication problems.
If a doctor’s cutting remarks or other acts create a hostile work environment, then members of a distracted or non-communicative medical team could easily commit harmful surgical errors. A surgical error could lead a patient to suffer injuries that worsen his or her condition and cause long-term medical problems. In a worst-case scenario, such errors could even be fatal.
Any doctor whose behavior undermines a patient’s safety is not carrying out his or her duty of care. Medical professionals must be held responsible when their mistakes harm patients. Filing a medical malpractice claim is one way that an injured patient can attempt to hold parties accountable for their negligence.
However, it can be difficult to prove what caused a surgical error. This is why, if you believe you have been victimized by a negligent doctor or other medical professional, you may want to have a medical malpractice attorney handle your case. The attorney could perform an investigation of the event in question and may be able to prove negligence.