How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
A patient who believes that he or she suffered a loss because of an error made by a medical professional may file a
medical malpractice lawsuit. These types of cases differ from the typical personal injury lawsuits in that they employ the professional standard of care to determine the degree of negligence.
In the United States, malpractice claims are handled by state trial courts. Each state has its own laws and procedures.
Duty of care
A surgeon, doctor, nurse or any other health professional, has a duty of care. This legal doctrine states that anyone who is a health professional treating you must follow the accepted medical procedures.
The medical standard of care is the legal yardstick to which all medical malpractice claims are measured. It is crucial to a successful claim, as it provides a way for the person who was injured and their lawyer to prove negligence by proving that a health professional did not conform to the standards of medical care.
A qualified medical expert is often needed to prove the standard of care. These experts are crucial in determining the standard of care applicable to the particular case, and the manner in which defendants breached this standard.
It is also necessary to show that this breach of duty directly caused your injury, illness or death. In medical malpractice lawsuits, damages can include hospital expenses as well as lost income, future earning capacity, suffering, pain and even punitive damages. Your lawyer must prove the relevant amount of these damages, which can be greater than the original medical expenses. In certain situations this is less difficult than in others. In certain instances this is more simple than in others.
Breach of duty
A physician owes the patient a duty to act in accordance to medical standards of care when providing treatment or services. If a patient is injured due to a doctor's negligence can bring a malpractice lawsuit.
Medical negligence can refer to an array of actions including mistakes in diagnosis, medication dosage, health management, treatments and aftercare. In order for a lawsuit to be valid, the plaintiff must prove four legal elements. These are:
First, there must be an established doctor-patient relationship. The physician is obliged to inform patients about any risks and complications that may be involved during the procedure. Even if the procedure was completed in a perfect manner, the doctor could be held accountable for negligence in the event that they fail to inform the patient. For instance, if a physician failed to warn that a certain operation had 30 percent chance of losing limbs, a patient might not reasonably have agreed to the procedure.
The other element to be proven is a breach of the standard of care. To prove that the doctor deviated from the norm, the lawyer will require expert witness testimony. It must also be proven that the breach of standard of care led to the patient's injuries.
It can take a long time to finish medical negligence claims in the court system. It involves a significant amount of doctor and attorney time, a thorough review of documents, appointing experts and conducting research into medical and legal literature. Physicians who are facing a malpractice suit will have to pay high court fees as well as attorney fees and work products, in addition to expenses for expert testimony.
Causation
All healthcare professionals including doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers are human and have the potential to make mistakes. When those mistakes rise to the level of medical malpractice, patients are afflicted with serious and even life-changing injuries. Proving that a medical provider acted in breach of his or duty and caused injury requires legal and medical knowledge. A successful claim requires four legal elements to be proved: a physician-patient relation and the duty of the doctor to duty of care to the patient, the breach of this duty, and then the injury that resulted from the breach.
It is also necessary to prove that the doctor's deviation from the standard of care was the primary and proximate cause of the injury. The legal standard for this element is higher than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" required in criminal cases. The lawyer representing the plaintiff must convince the jury or fact-finder that it is more likely that the physician's negligence caused the injury.
An expert medical witness is often required early in the process to establish all of these factors. According to Rhode Island law only doctors with the right education, training and experience in the field of suspected malpractice are able to give expert testimony. This is why choosing a qualified
medical malpractice law firm expert is such an important aspect of the malpractice case.
Damages
Medical malpractice lawsuits are designed to recover damages which include past and future expenses incurred as a result of an injury. The expenses could include hospital bills doctors' visits, hospital bills, the cost of suffering and wages. The amount of damages paid is determined by the jury by the evidence presented.
During the trial, the lawyer or plaintiff must prove four main legal elements: (1) a physician owed them a professional duty; (2) the doctor breached this duty by acting negligently; (3) the doctor's negligence caused injury; and (4) the injury caused damages that are quantifiable. Dissatisfaction with a physician's work does not constitute malpractice, but an actual injury must be present. A qualified expert witness will be able to determine whether a physician has violated the standards of care.
The legal procedure for a claim of malpractice can last years. This is because "discovery" involves the exchange of documents, and the sworn declarations of the parties involved. Although many cases are settled prior to reaching the courtroom, a minority of these cases go all the way to an appeal to a jury and a verdict.
In an effort to cut the cost of litigation, a few states have enacted a variety of administrative and legislative steps, known collectively as tort reform measures, to limit the liability of malpractice. A few states have also implemented alternative dispute resolution schemes, such as binding arbitration. The goal of these alternatives to civil litigation is to decrease the cost of litigation and speed up process of settling malpractice claims while removing juries that are too generous and removing frivolous medical claims.