What to Expect After Filing a Complaint Against a Doctor

Published on September 16, 2024

When we seek medical treatment for an illness or injury, we expect our doctors to fulfill their legal duty to provide treatment that meets the standard of care set by the medical community. When a doctor breaches their duty of care and the result is an injury, worsened medical condition, or death, the injury victim or their family has a right to hold the doctor or medical facility legally, financially, and ethically accountable. The first step in this process is filing a complaint against the doctor. Many victims of medical malpractice want to know what to expect as they navigate the medical malpractice lawsuit process, beginning with filing a claim.

Consulting a Phoenix medical malpractice attorney can provide valuable guidance and support throughout the legal process, ensuring victims pursue the compensation they deserve.

How Do I File a Complaint Against a Doctor or Medical Facility?

Filing an initial complaint is the first step in the medical malpractice process in Arizona and most other states. Before a medical malpractice injury victim can recover compensation they must report the malpractice to the state’s licensing board. In Arizona, this is the Arizona Department of Health Services. The formal complaint must detail the nature of the malpractice and the injury and damages it caused to the victim. Issuing a complaint against the doctor or medical facility after a malpractice incident officially puts the case on the record and triggers an investigation by the state’s medical board.

What Happens After I File a Medical Malpractice Complaint?

The state’s licensing board is a team of doctors who investigate complaints against physicians licensed in the state and may issue disciplinary measures against the doctor, such as a fine or a suspension of their medical license. After the injury victim or their family member files the complaint, the Department of Health Services issues a summons to the medical provider who becomes the defendant in the case. In some cases, the doctor or medical facility will offer the injury victim a settlement at this stage to preempt the need for court; however, more often they dispute the complaint. Early settlement offers are also typically far less than the claim’s true value. Unlike most personal injury cases, most medical malpractice claims require a lawsuit and litigation in court instead of ending with an early settlement.

Hiring Experienced Legal Representation to Investigate

If they haven’t already hired an attorney, a medical malpractice victim often does so after hearing back from the state’s Department of Health Services, which usually focuses far more on disciplinary action against the doctor than compensating an injured patient. A medical malpractice lawyer thoroughly investigates the medical malpractice and outlines the type of malpractice that occurred, such as delayed diagnosis, a medication mistake, or a surgical error, and then documents evidence of the doctor or hospital’s liability. An experienced attorney has access to medical experts who can interpret medical reports and translate complex medical terminology for a jury so they understand the negligent actions that caused the injury, and how the doctor’s actions or inaction led to the victim’s economic and non-economic damages. Medical experts also provide pertinent information about the impact of the injury on the victim’s ability to work and the amount of pain and suffering they are likely to experience until they reach their maximum medical improvement.

Receiving a Settlement or Jury Award for Damages

Arizona has a two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims. As long as the injury victim files their lawsuit within two years of the incident or of discovering the incident, the court will hear their case. At any point in the legal process, the medical provider may offer a settlement, or at the end of the trial, the jury decides on an amount of financial compensation and issues a jury award for the victim’s damages like past and future medical expenses, lost income, lowered earning capacity, compensation for pain and suffering. In some cases, they add compensation for diminished quality of life, scarring, disfigurement, or the loss of an organ, a limb, or one of the senses, depending on the details of the case.