As a patient receiving medical care in the state of Ohio, you have certain rights afforded to you under the law. When these rights are violated, you can be left with serious injuries and psychological trauma. Continue reading to learn about patient rights and what to do if a medical professional ignored or breached those rights when providing your care.
What Rights Do Patients Have In Medical Settings?
According to the American Medical Association (AMA), patients have the following rights when receiving healthcare in a hospital, emergency room, or outpatient setting:
- The right to be treated with dignity, respect, and courtesy.
- The right to have their medical needs addressed in a timely and appropriate manner.
- The right to receive adequate information from their doctors about treatment risks vs. benefits and available alternatives.
- The right to make informed decisions about the procedures or treatments they will receive.
- The right to receive guidance from their doctor about testing and treatment based on their unbiased professional judgment.
- The right to have the opportunity to ask their doctor questions about their condition and to have those questions answered to the best of their physician’s ability.
- The right to refuse recommended procedures, treatments, and other medical intervention if they are of sound mind.
- The right to privacy and confidentiality of identifying, personal, and health information.
- The right to request and receive copies of their patient records.
- The right to request and receive a second opinion.
- The right to know if their doctor has any conflicts of interest with regard to their medical care.
- The right to have enough notice and assistance to arrange alternative medical care before a doctor discharges them from their practice.
Common Examples of Patient Rights Violations
Unfortunately, patients in healthcare settings have their rights violated every day. Here are some of the most common examples:
- Failure to adequately staff a medical facility. Hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities are required to have enough staff on hand for a safe nurse-to-patient ratio to avoid violating the patient’s right to have timely care.
- Failure to provide a basic standard of care. Nursing staff who neglect to feed, bathe, medicate, or supervise patients who cannot do these things themselves is an extreme breach of a patient’s right to receive the appropriate medical care for their condition.
- Failure to treat the patient with dignity or respect. Verbally or physically abusing a patient, making fun of them, leaving them to care for themselves when they clearly cannot, and other forms of mistreatment that cause a patient to feel ashamed or degraded.
- Administering unnecessary behavior-altering medications. Staff may not give patients psychotropic medications without medical cause in order to calm a patient down or otherwise alter their behavior for the convenience of staff or other patients.
- Isolating the patient. Staff may not restrain a patient or isolate them away from others as a form of punishment. In order to move patients to a safety room or otherwise decrease their level of social interaction, there must be a verifiable medical reason why that patient is a danger.
- Abandoning the patient. Medical providers may not abandon a patient without first providing them with a minimum level of continuity of care. This means helping patients find another doctor and sending their records to ensure the new physician has the appropriate information to proceed.
What Happens If My Rights Are Violated?
If your patient rights were violated in a hospital or other medical setting, you may be able to hold the physician who did so responsible for the harm they caused. To be successful, you’ll need to prove how your rights were breached, how much money it cost you, and how you were physically and emotionally affected by the denial of those rights.
Compensation for patient rights violations is based on the egregiousness of the doctor’s actions and how severely it impacted you. The more the doctor went outside their professional capacity and the more you suffered as a result, the more compensation you stand to gain when filing a lawsuit.
When to Contact a Trusted Ohio Medical Malpractice Attorney Near You
Having your rights violated as a patient can be frightening. You need someone on your side who can zealously advocate for you and your family. At The Mellino Law Firm, we can provide you with comprehensive legal support and will pursue the full and fair compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Call us today at (440) 333-3800 or fill out our quick contact form and our team will get back to you as soon as possible to schedule your initial consultation.