How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers an object foreign to her body, such as surgical clamps within her body after gall bladder surgery could sue for medical negligence. A successful lawsuit must establish the elements of medical negligence: duty, deviation from the norm and direct cause.

Our clients must establish a direct link between the breach of duty, and the injury. This is known as the proximate cause.

Causes of Injury

A medical malpractice lawsuit (Read Much more) can be initiated by the patient who was injured or by a person legally appointed to represent them. Based on the circumstances, this could be a spouse of the patient or an adult child, parent, a guardian ad litem, or the administrator or executor of the estate of the deceased patient. The plaintiff in a suit for medical negligence is the health care provider. It could be an accredited doctor, nurse or therapist.

Malpractice cases typically involve many expert witnesses. medical malpractice settlement experts are required to testify on whether or whether the health professional adhered to the standards of treatment in their specific field. They must also testify about the harm caused by the doctor's actions or inactions.

Injury caused by negligence and mistakes can be catastrophic. For example, a misdiagnosis of a health condition can result in life-threatening consequences. Other types of injuries include operating on the incorrect body part or leaving surgical instruments inside the patient.

The patient must establish four legal elements of a malpractice claim the duty owed to the patient by the physician; a breach of this obligation; a harm caused by the breach and the resulting damages. In certain states, such as New York the law limits the amount of money awarded in a malpractice case.

Causation

The injury element is also known as the causation. It is one of most crucial elements in a medical malpractice claim. To prove causation, a plaintiff must prove that they sustained their injury on the basis of probabilities because due to the negligence of the doctor. This can be a challenging task due to several reasons.

For example, many injuries that are the subject of a medical-malpractice lawsuit stem from long-term, or ongoing illnesses that were present prior to treatment. The time period for filing a medical malpractice case could be extended over the course of several years and injuries can develop slowly.

In these situations, it is difficult to prove that a particular medical professional's breach of standards of care caused the injury. The attorney may have gathered evidence, such as expert testimony and medical malpractice compensation records that the patient who was injured may use.

During the discovery process, which is a part of the legal procedure getting ready for trial, your lawyer can ask for the disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from the lawyers of the defendants. The doctor medical malpractice lawsuit defending the lawsuit will then be called to testify during a deposition, which is testimony given under the oath. Your lawyer is able to cross-examine doctor and contest their findings. The jury will decide if the plaintiff has proven all the elements of the case including breach of duty, breach of contract and causation.

Negligence

When a medical negligence claim is filed the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor committed a breach of professional duties and those breached duties caused injuries. The plaintiff's lawyer has to prove this using evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which involves asking for disclosure of documents such as medical records from all parties who are involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, where statements are made under oath, and recorded for use at trial, are also a part of this procedure.

A doctor has violated his or her professional duty when he/she did something that a reasonably prudent doctor would not do in similar circumstances. However it must be established that the breach directly caused injury to the patient. This is referred to as causation or causal proximate causes. A patient could visit a hospital to have a hernia repaired, but instead end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice as the removal of the gall bladder did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally prescribed time frame, known as the statute of limitations, which is different for each state. The injured patient must establish that the negligence resulted in injury, and then he or she must show how much compensation he or she is entitled to.

Damages

If a medical error has caused you to sustain an injury, you deserve to be compensated. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive fair and full compensation for your losses.

The first step in a lawsuit is to make a complaint and serve it along with summons and other papers on all defendants. The parties then begin discovery, a process by which documents and statements are made public under the oath. During discovery medical records and notes from a doctor are usually requested.

In many states, to receive compensation for injuries caused by negligence, you must to prove four things including a duty of good faith owed by the healthcare provider and a breach of that obligation; a causal connection between the breach and injury and damages resultant from the injury. If your lawyer can demonstrate all of these elements of a medical negligence claim, medical malpractice lawsuit you'll have a convincing case.

In some instances, a court may give punitive damages, which are intended to penalize the perpetrator and discourage others from engaging in similar misconduct. This isn't often however, in medical malpractice cases. The courts must be able to prove evidence of malice before they may make these extraordinary awards.