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Claiming Compensation for Medical Negligence
You’ve just had an operation, but have come out of it thinking that the surgery has actually made matters worse, so you’re now considering making a claim for compensation.
But you have lots of concerns. Can any solicitor handle this? Will it be stressful and time-consuming? Am I going to end up paying more than I will gain in compensation? Will I have to go to Court and will I need to be examined by strange doctors? Well, these and a hundred other questions may well swim through your mind and it’s not surprising.
As you might imagine, you cannot simply put in a random medical accident claim without a lot of time, sourcing of other details and work being done first. Your case will require hours of investigation into your medical records and the necessity, from this research, to determine whether or not you have a valid case.
Medical experts, independent doctors and background study of all the clinical aspects surrounding your claim will be involved. Although not many claims for medical negligence (also known a clinical negligence) end up in Court, winning a Court action is not always guaranteed.
This is one reason why it is imperative you get the support and knowledge of a highly experienced clinical negligence solicitor. A lawyer who does not have specialist training in this field of study may well lack the skills required to handle this area of Law. The result could be loss of your – or public – money, not just loss of a Court case.
It is advisable to search out a clinical negligence lawyer who practices with a Law firm who hold a Legal Services Commission Clinical Negligence Franchise. This company should be able to offer funding from the Community Legal Service Fund (formerly known as legal aid).
Alternatively, find a firm with lawyers who have been admitted to the Law Society’s Clinical Negligence Panel or the AVMA (Action against Victims of Medical Accidents) panel. All these panels have very strict criteria for membership, so you might discover that there are not many solicitors on them. You may therefore need to travel to find a specialist solicitor (unless you are too unwell to travel in which case most medical negligence solicitors make home visits) – but your effort should be rewarded.
Next, check out their record of success in handling this type of litigation. Ask if you can have a free initial consultation. Take a list of questions you want to ask as the meetings can go quickly:
1) What access do they have to medical experts with individual specialist knowledge?
2) Do they have a track record of medical negligence cases with successful outcomes?
3) Has a clinical negligence lawyer from the firm experience of going to Court, in order to represent you, argue your case and give evidence?
Building trust with your chosen medical negligence solicitor in this way is vital for success.
Tim Bishop is senior partner at Bonallack & Bishop, a firm of expert Medical Negligence Solicitors who can advise you on your accident claim. He is responsible for all major strategic decisions and has grown the firm by 1000% in 13 years. Tim sees himself as a businessman who owns a law firm and intends to expand further.
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Survey respondents share their thoughts on HIM roles and compensation
2016 HIM director and manager salary survey
More HIM professionals needed to manage an increasing workload, responsibilities
When compared to data from past surveys, HCPro’s 2016 HIM director and manager salary survey revealed a harsh truth that many HIM professionals already know: There has been little movement in HIM manager and director salaries over the years.
This year, the highest percentage of respondents indicated earning between $ 60,000 and $ 89,999 annually, an amount that has not budged much since 2013 (see the figure on p. 3). The percentage of respondents earning less than $ 40,000 decreased from 7% in 2013 to 4% in 2016, and the percentage of those earning $ 150,000 or more increased from just 3% in 2013 to 6% in 2016?but this is happening during a time when the HIM department is often tasked with doing more work with fewer resources.
"As budgets get tighter, we get more responsibility with the increase in pay," one respondent said.
Another respondent echoed those sentiments: "It is not so much the pay as the ever-increasing workload. We need more bodies throughout HIM, not necessarily more money."
Despite the fact that average salaries have remained fairly consistent since this survey was first conducted, 78% of 2016 respondents received a raise in the past year. One-third of respondents (33%) received a 3% raise, and approximately one-quarter (26%) received a 2% raise.
While 56% of respondents feel they are fairly compensated for the work they do, 62% do not believe HIM directors and managers overall are sufficiently compensated for their work.
Statistics
More than half (53%) of this year’s respondents work as HIM directors, and 29% work as HIM managers. The majority (93%) of respondents are female. One respondent noted the ties between gender and salary in the workplace.
"There is still gender disparity?females are not paid the same as male counterparts for same/similar work," the respondent said. "There are other healthcare professionals with less responsibility/scope earning more. HIM professionals tend to have a wider scope of responsibility with multiple specialized functions."
Half of the respondents work at acute care hospitals, and 15% work in critical access hospitals. The plurality of those working in a hospital setting are in hospitals with fewer than 199 beds (42%), whereas more than one-quarter (26%) work at hospitals with 200?599 beds and 18% work at 600+ bed hospitals. The remainder of respondents do not work in hospital settings.
Experience, education, and certification
The percentage of respondents whose highest level of education is a bachelor’s degree remained steady at 42% from 2015 to 2016, which is an increase from the 30% of respondents with a bachelor’s degree in 2014. Similarly, the percentage of respondents whose highest level of education is an associate’s degree decreased from 22% in 2015 to 20% in 2015, indicating that a baccalaureate-level education is becoming the standard in the HIM profession. Although 21% reported earning a master’s degree, none had a doctoral-level education.
More than half of those whose highest level of education is an associate’s degree earn $ 50,000?$ 69,999 annually (54%), whereas most respondents with a bachelor’s degree earn $ 60,000?$ 89,999 annually (44%). (See p. 4 for more information.)
The majority of respondents are aged 40?59. The plurality of respondents (20%) have 21?29 years of HIM experience, a figure that has remained relatively steady since the 2015 survey. Just 13% have 3?5 years’ experience, and just 7% have 6?10 years, while 16% have been in the profession 30?39 years, indicating that HIM may need some fresh faces as directors and managers near retirement age.
The plurality of respondents with 16?20 years’ experience earn $ 70,000?$ 89,000 annually, whereas the plurality of those in the profession 21?29 years earn $ 80,000?$ 89,000 annually (23%). However, 30% of those with 30?39 years’ experience earn $ 150,000 or more.
Nearly half of this year’s respondents (43%) are certified as registered health information administrators (RHIA), compared to 53% in 2015. The percentage of respondents certified as registered health information technicians (RHIT) increased from 28% last year to 31% this year. The percentage of respondents who are certified coding specialists (CCS) increased from 16% in 2015 to 25% in 2016.
The percentage of respondents with an RHIT certification whose highest level of education is an associate’s degree continues to climb?78% in 2015 compared to 82% in 2016. These respondents appear motivated to earn certifications, with 32% holding a CCS certification this year compared to 19% in 2015.
In general, HIM directors and managers are obtaining CCS certifications. Among respondents whose highest level of education is a bachelor’s degree, one-quarter are CCS certified this year compared to 12% in 2015. However, the percentage of respondents with this level of education who are RHIA certified dropped from 68% in 2015 to 56% in 2016, while the percentage of those with an RHIT certification increased from 17% in 2015 to 22% this year.
RHIA certification also declined among respondents whose highest level of education is a master’s degree?84% in 2015 to 70% in 2016. The percentage of respondents in this group who are RHIT certified increased at a rate similar to respondents in other educational categories, more than doubling from 6% in 2015 to 13% in 2016.
Benefits and overtime
The percentage of respondents who work 42?50 hours weekly continues to increase, with 55% in 2014 compared to 58% in 2015 and 60% in 2016. However, 76% of 2016 respondents indicated that they are not compensated for overtime. Those who are compensated receive one and a half times their regular pay (9%) or time off in lieu of additional pay (2%).
Despite an increasing workload and a growth in the number of hours many respondents work, few have seen an increase in their benefits, including health coverage, retirement plan matching, pension plans, travel budget, vacation and holiday time, tuition reimbursement, continuing education budget, and the ability to accrue time off.
One respondent indicated that he or she does not receive any bonuses or perks, yet is still expected to take on more work. "I was given clinical documentation improvement [CDI] responsibilities in the last year with no salary increase. I am the inpatient coder and I do CDI by myself. I am also over privacy. When my salary is determined, privacy, CDI, and coding are not taken into consideration in the calculation?only the salaries of HIM department managers in the immediate area are considered."
Respondents were split on whether overall HIM salary, benefits, bonuses, and job perks keep up with the cost of living, with 56% stating these benefits have not kept pace throughout the industry. "It is similar to most industries?more work is added and cost of living rises and companies are able to keep up with rising costs," one respondent said.
Similarly, respondents were asked if their personal salary, benefits, bonuses, and perks keep up with the cost of living; more than half (51%) said no.
HIM responsibilities
In years past, respondents listed release of information as their top responsibility, with 76% responsible for this function in 2014. This figure remained steady, at 72% in both 2015 and 2016.
However, in the wake of ICD-10 implementation, the percentage of respondents working on coding increased from 70% in 2014 to 72% in 2015 and 77% in 2016. Other responsibilities appeared to dip slightly as coding took center stage, although the percentage of HIM directors and managers responsible for CDI increased from 45% in 2015 to 56% in 2016, which is not surprising as this function often goes hand-in-hand with coding.
Other responsibilities include the following:
- Document imaging, including preparation, scanning, indexing, and verification (65% in 2016, 2015, and 2014)
- Transcription, including report processing, interface failures, corrections, and distribution (53% in 2016, 57% in 2015, and 55% in 2014)
- Privacy (43% in 2016, 52% in 2015, and 51% in 2014)
- Recovery Audit program (33% in 2016, 30% in 2015, and 37% in 2014, which may be attributed to the temporary hold on these audits)
- Compliance (30% in 2016, 27% in 2015, and 32% in 2014)
- Birth certificates (33% in 2016, 31% in 2015, and 26% in 2014)
- Tumor registry (21% in 2016, 24% in 2015, and 20% in 2014)
- Security (15% in 2016 and 2015, 18% in 2014)
- Utilization review (5% in 2016, 6% in 2015, and 12% in 2014, which may indicate that this function is moving to other departments such as nursing or case management)
- Case management (2% in 2016 and 2015, 4% in 2014)
Survey respondents share their thoughts on HIM roles and compensation
HCPro’s HIM Briefings asked 2016 HIM director and manager salary survey respondents about their satisfaction with their roles, compensation, and benefits. They said:
"I think that the revenue the HIM departments generate and are required to ensure/validate compliance the salaries are way off in comparison to job requirements!"
"I suspect that people don’t realize the location has a lot to do with salary/compensation. Salaries for these positions in smaller communities is generally less."
"Some of my colleagues have not kept current with trends in the EMR, permitting IT staff to take control. I think this has lessened HIM’s role in some institutions. We have fought to get to the discussion table and have shown how our experience has a great value in implementing systems."
"Sometimes, we are branded one of the ‘non-revenue producing’ departments so we are an afterthought."
"The amount of work and knowledge needed in the role is comparable to information systems roles and the salaries are not comparable."
"HIM work is not understood nor appreciated. We are a critical member of the team."
When to Claim a Medical Compensation?
A Medical Compensation Claims may be claimed from a doctor or a medical institution like a hospital or care center if he or the institution is responsible for causing you injury, instead of treating you. A person visits a hospital when he is sick or ill and expects to be treated for it. So if he is misdiagnosed or if the doctor treating him is not competent enough, causing him injury and pain, then the patient has every right to claim compensation.
You may hire a Medical Compensation Lawyer to fight for your case as he will be able to present your case legally and with all the details before the court and increase the chances of claiming the compensation.
What are the conditions under which a compensation could be claimed?
A lot of people are confused regarding what are the proper conditions under which compensations could be claimed. Before discussing that, however, it should be mentioned at the very outset that you cannot claim a compensation simply if your illness cannot be treated. This is because the nature of your illness might be such that it cannot be treated.
However:
You are perfectly free to Medical Injury compensation if the doctor treating you knows that he is not qualified to treat you, or that the hospital does not have the necessary equipments or facilities to carry on the treatment, and yet hides the fact from you and keeps charging you. It might be very late before you realize that the treatment is not benefiting you in any way.
If you have not been diagnosed at the right time, then it might be too late for treatment. The effectiveness of a treatment depends much on the stage when the illness is diagnosed. Otherwise, not only the treatment becomes more complicated and expensive but may also become dangerous for the patient’s life.
If a wrong diagnosis of the illness is done, that too might have serious complications. Because in the meantime, the real illness might spread while the patient is treated for something else. Or may be, a much more serious illness might have been wrongly diagnosed, causing immense emotional strain for the patient and his family, when in reality it was something minor.
You might also claim compensation if you suspect malpractices in the hospital. In that case, you may also bring in criminal charges.
It is unfortunate that many under- trained doctors and nurses are now employed to fill in vacancies at hospitals and they may knowingly or unknowing cause serious injury to the patient. In such cases, it is fully within the rights of the patient to claim compensation.
Compensation For a Case of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice occurs when a health care provider fails to perform his or her duties as expected, and the result is death or injury of the patient. Standards for malpractice vary by country. Doctors are required to adhere to these standards; your signature on a waiver before a procedure does not relieve the doctor of his or her duties in this area. If your procedure results in injury, or you are misdiagnosed, you still maintain your legal rights.
Not every unfortunate outcome of a medical procedure can be considered a valid malpractice case, however, so it is important to consider the different factors which must be present in order to assess whether your case is valid.
There are four main elements of a medical malpractice case which must be present in order for the case to be brought to trial. First, the plaintiff, who represents the injured party, must show that the healthcare provider had a legal duty provide reasonable care to the patient. Next, the plaintiff must show that this duty did not meet acceptable standards. Usually, experts are needed to testify this matter and show what those standards are. The plaintiff must then show that this breech of duty is indeed what caused the resulting injury. Finally, damages must be established. These may be to compensate for the plaintiff’s loss, or to punish the healthcare provider for negligence. Punitive damages may only be awarded if the healthcare provider was reckless during the procedure.
It is the plaintiff’s duty to provide burden of proof in a medical malpractice case; that is, he or she must produce and illustrate enough evidence to indicate that his or her claim is valid. As mentioned, expert testimony can be a key to doing this successfully. These people must be qualified in order to present their expertise in court. The expert’s testimony will be assessed according to four main points: whether the theory has been tested, whether it is been peer reviewed and published, whether the rate of error is known, and whether there are standards in place.
If you believe that your malpractice case meets these standards, you should be sure to contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney to verify and be sure. Do not hesitate; medical malpractice claims must be filed within a certain time period after the procedure. Doctors have a duty to take care of their patients, and if you feel you have been denied this right, you should seek the compensation you deserve.
For more insights and additional information about how to find out more about Medical Malpractice as well as finding a wealth of resources to help you determine if you have a valid malpractice case and pursuing it, please visit our web site at http://www.malpracticeinfonow.com