Medical Malpractice | August 24, 2022

Medical Waivers: Can You Still Pursue a Malpractice Lawsuit if You Signed One?

If you’ve been a victim of medical malpractice, you may be considering pursuing a malpractice lawsuit.

However, if you signed a medical waiver, you may feel unsure whether you can still pursue a malpractice case.

The best thing to do in this situation is to consult a medical lawyer. However, before you do that, read this blog post to get some general information about pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit if you signed a waiver.

We’ll answer the following questions:

What is a medical waiver?
Can I still pursue a medical malpractice case if I’ve signed one?
How can a medical lawyer help me pursue a medical malpractice case?

At Sommers Roth and Elmaleh, our experienced lawyers can explain your options for pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit if you signed a medical waiver.

What is a medical waiver?

The Doctors and other professionals treating you must inform you of all the risks associated with a course of treatment or surgery.

Depending on the risk of the treatment or surgery you’re receiving, you may be required to sign a waiver before your medical team is willing to proceed.

When you sign a waiver, you agree that a doctor or other medical professionals explained all the risks of treatment or surgery to you, and you’re waiving your right to sue them if you’re injured due to their treatment or an error during surgery.

You can decline to sign a waiver, but it’s unlikely that a medical team will agree to continue treating you if you do so.

Can I still pursue a medical malpractice case if I’ve signed a waiver?

The reason that medical institutions ask you to sign a waiver is that they don’t want you to be able to sue them. So if you have signed a medical waiver, it can be more challenging to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit – but not impossible.

These are some situations where a patient could still pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit, regardless of what they signed:

If they can prove that their team did not provide informed consent.

For example, a patient is asked to sign a waiver just before surgery, but the surgeon doesn’t explain the risks of the surgery or the meaning of signing the waiver.
If a medical professional has been grossly negligent.

An example of gross negligence is when a surgeon or someone assisting them leaves a surgical instrument in a patient after surgery, which can leave the patient prone to infection and other complications.

A medical lawyer can provide you with more information about situations in which you could pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit even if you’ve signed a medical waiver.

How can a lawyer help me pursue a medical malpractice case?

If you feel you’ve been the victim of medical malpractice but signed a medical waiver, you have the best chance of success in pursuing a case if you work with a medical lawyer.

A malpractice lawyer can explain to you the main reasons that the waiver may not be enforceable, such as:

You were a minor at the time or had limited mental capacity.
You signed under duress – for example, you were told you might die without surgery and not given time to understand the risks associated with surgery.
Information was misrepresented to you – for example, your surgeon downplayed risks associated with surgery.

How can Sommers Roth and Elmaleh help me?

At Sommers Roth and Elamleh, we specialize in medical malpractice. Our experienced medical lawyers will help you understand if you can still pursue a medical malpractice case despite having signed a medical waiver.

When you come to us to learn about pursuing a malpractice case, our lawyers can explain:

The different kinds of situations qualify as medical malpractice. When pursuing a medical malpractice case after signing a waiver, you may still have a case if surgical errors occurred or you were discharged too early from the hospital.
The various areas of medical malpractice our medical lawyers have experience with.
How strong a case we think you have and what kind of damages you may be eligible for.

Don’t try to navigate the complicated medical-legal system by yourself! Instead, work with a qualified medical lawyer – and remember, we only get paid if you win your case!

Don’t Assume That Just Because You Signed a Waiver You Can’t Pursue a Malpractice Lawsuit

When you sign a medical waiver, you agree not to sue a medical professional if you’re injured during treatment or surgery.

However, there are certain situations where you can still sue a hospital or a doctor after signing a waiver, such as gross negligence or not providing informed consent.

Our medical lawyers at Sommers Roth and Elmaleh will explain your legal rights, even after signing a medical waiver. We’ve been in business for over forty years, and our primary focus is to ensure that injured patients get the compensation they’re entitled to.

Contact Us to Learn More About Working With a Medical Lawyer

If you’d like to know more about how our medical lawyers can help you, then book a free consultation with us today.

You can call us at 844-777-7372 or contact us online to learn more about how we can help you pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit.

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23 May 2023

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