If you or a member of your family has been victimized by hospital negligence, you undoubtedly have many questions. How did this happen? Who was in charge? Were proper procedures followed? Will I recover from this medical mistake?

In these stressful situations, your primary focus should always be on your health or the health of a loved one. However, once you or your loved one has fully recovered or are on the path to recovery, you may want to find out exactly what transpired.

Today's post is the second in a series. It will briefly outline a few steps that a person can choose to take in the aftermath of serious hospital negligence.

Please see "Steps to Consider in the Aftermath of Hospital Negligence - I" for more information.

A person seeking to learn more about the hospital negligence that resulted in serious bodily harm may consider the following steps:

Maintain your own record of what happened and who was involved

In addition to requesting a copy of your medical information/medical records, you may want to consider keeping your own log of the event.

By writing down all valuable information - types of procedures performed, dates of procedures, medications administered, names of medical staff (physicians, nurses, medical assistants, etc.) - you can help ensure that you have a strong tool to refute potentially unclear notations/missing information in your file should you choose to pursue legal action.

"Doctor's are constantly told what kinds of things not to put in medical records," said Bruce G. Fagel, a California medical malpractice attorney and former emergency room physician.

Talk to the appropriate parties

If medical staff is refusing to provide the answers you need in the wake of serious hospital negligence, you may want to consider speaking with someone in a position of higher authority. This often includes patient advocates or ombudsmen.

Furthermore, you may also want to consider filing a formal compliant with a local or state health board/department to help ensure that the same medical error does not occur again.

Consider speaking with an attorney

Lastly, you may want to consider speaking with a legal professional if the hospital refuses to provide answers and/or offer an acceptable remedy.

This post was for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice.

If you lost a loved one to what you believe was hospital negligence or were seriously injured by a surgical error, you should strongly consider contacting an experienced legal professional.

Stay tuned for further developments from our Texas wrongful death/medical malpractice blog ...

Related Resources:

Medical Mistakes: What to Do if the Hospital Makes a Mistake (Health.com)