When Medical Boards Fail: Your Right to a Jury May Be Your Strongest Protection Against Medical Negligence

Patients place their trust in medical providers every day – they hardly have a choice. When you’re injured or ill, you listen to the advice of people who are meant to be experts. There are meant to be oversights to protect patients from medical providers who aren’t qualified to provide advice and treatment. State medical licensing boards, for instance, are meant to oversee these important professionals.

Sadly, and frighteningly, these boards frequently fail to take appropriate actions to discipline careless and unqualified providers or to have them stripped of their qualifications and licenses. When the regulators fail, patients have to turn to another resource to hold negligent medical professionals accountable. Fortunately, Arizona’s Constitution — and the foundational principles set forth in the 7th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution — help ensure patients have the right to seek justice through a civil jury trial. This right to a jury trial could often be the only way to expose dangerous doctors and recover compensation.

State medical boards and their responsibilities

The role of state medical boards is to protect the public. They are meant to provide this service by taking steps like:

• Investigating complaints of malpractice
• Enforcing medical standards
• Disciplining unsafe physicians through suspension, probation, or license revocation

These boards should be proactive. In reality, they often fail to act – possibly because they lack the funding and resources to effectively investigate providers. Also, they may be slow or unwilling to act if they’re politically influenced or loyal to the people they’re meant to police rather than the patients. This can render these regulatory bodies ineffective and leave patients vulnerable to inadequate medical care.

Dangerous doctors continue to practice

A study from the New England Journal of Medicine exposed a highly disturbing statistic—nearly 93% of doctors with five or more malpractice claims were still continuing to practice. Those numbers show that even repeat offenders face little chance of repercussions. State medical boards appear to downplay patient concerns, delay taking action, and may reinstate doctors quietly even when they’re dangerous. Studies also indicate that the disciplinary rates vary greatly from state to state. As a result, patients in some states may be better protected than those in others, without any national standard.

The human cost of regulatory failure

When boards give doctors little more than a slap on the wrist, or fail to hold them accountable in any way for their errors, the consequences can be deadly. Medical malpractice may involve serious injuries to patients, and in extreme cases, it can cost a person their life. From misdiagnoses to surgical errors, a doctor’s mistakes often have devastating outcomes. In fact, one study “estimated that >200,000 patient deaths annually were due to preventable medical errors.”

Also, without proper oversight and reporting, a patient might not even know that their doctor was subject to multiple negligence allegations. Sometimes, doctors settle with the patients they harm in order to make the claim go away quietly. A doctor may also have moved from another state without an adequate investigation into their past malpractice issues. As a result, patients might unknowingly subject themselves to treatment by a doctor who presents severe risks to their health.

What is the right to a jury trial — and why does it matter to patients?

The 7th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is not as well-known as many of the others. However, it can have a massive impact on the lives of average citizens. This law guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil cases heard in federal court. However, most medical malpractice cases — including those in Arizona — are filed in state court under state law. In these cases, the right to a jury trial is protected by the Arizona Constitution. Article 2, Section 23 states: “The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.”

This means patients in Arizona still have a powerful legal safeguard if they’ve been injured by a negligent doctor or healthcare provider. Even when state agencies fail to take meaningful action, victims can turn to the civil justice system and ask a jury of their peers to decide the case.

The principle behind the 7th Amendment remains important: that ordinary people — not just regulators or institutions — have the power to hold others accountable in civil court. A jury trial can shift power away from corporate-owned hospitals, with their teams of lawyers and give it back to the person who suffered at the hands of a negligent doctor. Whether it’s a medical board that fails you, a big corporation that puts its financial interests ahead of your safety, or an insurance company not treating you fairly, jury trials are here to protect you.

How civil lawsuits provide accountability

Medical malpractice lawsuits allow an injured person to recover damages. The financial recovery is often extremely important because a medical error can lead to the need for more expensive treatment, lost earnings or even the loss of the ability to work, and other serious monetary outcomes. However, these cases aren’t just about the money. They are a way to expose wrongdoing, and to put pressure on medical institutions like hospitals to provide a better standard of care for patients. A facility that faces high-profile medical malpractice claims will also likely suffer reputational damage because future potential patients will be better informed about those past failures.

In short, a jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff in a medical malpractice claim can lead to:

• Monetary damages for the injured person or their family
• Mandatory safety changes
• Public records of unsafe medical practices

Those outcomes are powerful when it comes to giving a voice to the average person.

Why legal help is critical in these cases

Even with constitutional protections, patients injured because of medical negligence can face steep barriers to justice. These claims involve complex legal standards and often require expert testimony from medical practitioners. Plaintiffs will also be facing defendants like hospitals and insurers that have extensive resources and well-funded litigation teams.

An experienced medical malpractice attorney can help even the score and gives the injured person someone in their corner who will:

• Investigate the case thoroughly
• Obtain medical records and expert analysis
• Build a compelling case for trial or settlement

Plattner Verderame Arizona Injury Lawyers has extensive litigation experience and is prepared to take on high-stakes, complicated medical malpractice cases.

How you can protect yourself

While it’s important to know your rights after suffering an injury from medical malpractice, there are ways to empower yourself and your family in the future. One consideration is that you should carefully research your provider whenever possible. Obviously, in emergency situations like car accidents, you might not have the option to take this step, but in many scenarios, you can do a little research and learn more about the doctor who you are trusting to care for you and your loved ones.

If you or someone you love suffered an injury, and you suspect it was the result of medical negligence, don’t hesitate to contact an attorney. There are strict deadlines involved in medical malpractice cases, and preparing an effective litigation strategy takes time. Evidence also has a tendency to become more elusive as time passes. When it comes to finding a medical malpractice lawyer to represent you, reaching out sooner is always better than later.

Conclusion: Don’t rely on the system alone

The failure of state medical boards to provide adequate, competent oversight of doctors isn’t just a problem—it’s a full-blown public health crisis. If you don’t know about your rights, you could fall victim to a system that would prefer to keep you quiet. If you’ve suffered harm because of medical negligence, don’t trust the system to offer you justice. Find someone who is willing to fight for you. Call Plattner Verderame Arizona Injury Lawyers today for a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our medical malpractice lawyers to discuss your case. We’re ready to stand up for you and your family.