How to File a Medical Malpractice Case
A patient who discovers that an object that is foreign like surgical clamps, remain inside her body following gall bladder surgery could pursue a medical malpractice suit. A successful claim must establish the legal aspects of medical negligence: duty, deviance from this duty, direct cause, and injury.
It is crucial for our clients to establish a direct connection between the breach of duty and the injury called proximate causation.
Cause of Injury
A medical malpractice case can be filed by the injured patient or a person who is legally authorized to act on their behalf. This could be the spouse, adult child, parent, guardian or administrator of a deceased patient's estate depending on the specific circumstances. The defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit is the health professional. This could be a nurse, doctor, therapist or any other health care professional.
Expert testimony is usually required in malpractice cases.
medical malpractice lawyer experts are required to determine if the healthcare provider acted within the standard of care in their specific field of expertise. They also need to testify on injuries caused by physician's actions or inactions.
Injuries resulting from malpractice and negligence can be very severe. A mistake in diagnosis can have devastating consequences, including life-threatening conditions. Other kinds of injuries include performing surgery on the wrong body part or leaving instruments inside the patient during surgery.
The patient must prove four legal elements in a malpractice case that include a duty owed to the patient by the physician and a breach of that duty; an injury caused by the breach and the resulting damages. In some states, such as New York, the law restricts the amount of money that can be awarded in an injury resulting from a malpractice claim.
Causation
The injury element is also called the causation. It is one of most crucial elements in a medical malpractice claim. To prove causation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that their injury was caused by a physician's negligence. This can be a difficult job due to a variety of reasons.
A lot of the injuries that form the basis of a
medical Malpractice Law firm negligence suit result from chronic conditions that existed prior to when treatment started. The time-limit for a medical malpractice case can be extended for a number of years and injuries can develop slowly.
In these situations it can be difficult to prove that one particular medical professional's breach of the standard of care led to the injury. The attorney could have collected evidence, like expert testimony and medical records that the patient who was injured can utilize.
During the discovery process, which is an integral part of the legal procedure for
medical malpractice law firm getting ready for trial, your lawyer will seek disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from lawyers representing the defendants. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit is then called to testify during depositions, which are testimony under oath. Your lawyer can cross-examine the doctor and challenge the doctor's findings. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has established that the allegations of the case are true including breach of duty and causation.
Negligence
If a
medical malpractice lawsuit is filed the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the physician breached his or her professional duties and that the violations caused injury. The lawyer representing the plaintiff must prove this using evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which involves the disclosure of documents, including medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, in which the statements are made under oath, and recorded to be used at trial, are also a part of this procedure.
A doctor has breached their professional duty when they did something that a reasonable and prudent doctor would not have done in similar circumstances. However it must be proved that the breach directly caused injury to the patient. This is referred to as causation, or proxy causes. For example, a patient goes to the hospital for a procedure to treat a hernia and is then able to have his or the gall bladder removed instead. This is medical negligence since the removal was not beneficial for the patient.
Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a legally-defined period of time, called the statute of limitations that varies from state to state. The injured patient must establish that the negligent care caused injury and then demonstrate the amount of compensation he or she is entitled to.
Damages
If medical negligence has led you to suffer injury, you are entitled to be compensated. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive a fair and complete compensation for your losses.
The first step is filing and serving a complaint and summons on all named defendants in the lawsuit. The parties then engage in discovery. This is where documents and statements are revealed under oath. During discovery medical records and notes from a doctor will usually be requested.
In the majority of states, you have to prove four things in order to be compensated for injuries caused by medical malpractice that is a duty owed by the healthcare provider in breach of that duty; a causal link between the breach and the injury suffered by the patient and the damages that result from the injury. If your attorney can establish all of these elements, you can make a an argument for financial recovery in a claim for medical malpractice.
In certain cases the court can award punitive damage which is intended to penalize a wrongdoer and discourage others from committing similar acts. It is not common however, particularly in medical malpractice cases. The courts must be able to prove evidence of malice before they are able to decide to award these extraordinary damages.