When you go to the doctor and ask them to diagnose a condition you’ve been dealing with, you start by telling them about the symptoms you’ve noticed. Maybe you tell them the story of how the injury or illness began. You’re trying to give them as much information as you can in a short amount of time so that they can make the proper diagnosis. There’s no way that they’re going to understand your condition in the way that you do, but they should be able to learn enough to decide how to treat you.
But what happens when that treatment fails? Did the doctor make a mistake? And was that mistake based on the fact that the doctor didn’t listen to you in the first place?
Interrupting their patients
This is an important question to ask because studies have found that doctors tend to interrupt their patients. The average amount of time that a doctor will usually let the patient talk before interrupting is a mere 11 seconds.
If you’re surprised by this, it’s because you can imagine that you wouldn’t have been able to provide very much information that quickly. But it happens often, largely because doctors are in a rush and they need to move quickly. The doctor may have cut you off and not listened long enough to get the information they needed, leading to an inaccurate diagnosis and improper treatment.
But what can you do about something like this? If it’s already happened, it may have changed your life forever. Perhaps you suffered complications or your medical condition got more serious, all because of that doctor’s mistake. They neglected to listen, and you are paying the price. That’s when it may be time to look into your rights to financial compensation.