What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?
A medical malpractice claim involves a patient who complains of the negligence of a healthcare professional. The patient, or or his estate in the event of a deceased patient, must prove that the negligence caused injury or harm.
Lawsuits alleging medical malpractice are usually filed in state trial courts. In order to win a lawsuit the aggrieved party has to prove four elements of law:
Duty of care
In any legal case, the plaintiff needs to demonstrate that an individual or entity had a legal obligation to care, and they failed to meet that obligation. In medical malpractice cases this is the obligation of doctors to provide the appropriate standard of care to their patients. Expert testimony is typically used to establish this.
Expert witnesses can help determine the proper standards for medicine and then explain how a doctor has deviated from these standards while treating patients. A medical malpractice lawyer for a plaintiff must then prove that this deviation was directly responsible for the victim's injuries.
Using expert testimony is essential for jurors, since the majority of jurors have only a basic understanding of anatomy and watch several medical dramas. In the case of medical malpractice this is especially important as it is often difficult to establish the appropriate standard of care. In a medical malpractice lawsuit, the standard refers to the level of expertise, quality of care and level of care that other doctors in similar specialties can demonstrate under similar circumstances.
Generally, experts in medical malpractice claims are surgeons or physicians with similar qualifications and board certifications. Due to the "conspiracy of silence" among a lot of doctors (a term lawyers use to describe the tendency of doctors not to testify against each other) It isn't easy to find a qualified expert willing to defend a colleague against inadequate care.
Breach of duty
Medical malpractice occurs when a physician makes a mistake that hurts the patient. These mistakes can lead to new injuries or even worsen existing ones. Medical malpractice cases are a complex set of issues and laws, which makes them difficult to prove. A reputable medical malpractice lawyer will investigate your case to determine if the doctor has violated their obligation to you.
Your attorney will determine if there was a doctor-patient relationship between you and your physician which is necessary for any malpractice claim. Your attorney will examine your physician's decisions and actions to determine the level of care in your state for doctors with similar training, backgrounds and geographical location is met.
Doctors owe it to their patients to follow these standards without omission or deviation. A breach of that duty means that the doctor was not able to meet the expectations of his patients and resulted in harm to you.
Proving that a breach of duty occurred is usually straightforward with the help of the research of your attorney and expert witnesses. Experts can prove that the doctor's actions did not meet the standard of medical care and provide reasons why a different medical professional would have behaved differently in similar circumstances. Your lawyer should also be able to link the breach of duty with your injuries and damages. Your lawyer will scrutinize your medical records, test results, prescriptions and imaging scans to build an argument that the breach of duty by your doctor directly resulted in your injuries.
Causation
Most treatments come with some degree of risk, but medical errors can increase the risks. To prove the causation of a malpractice claim the patient who has been injured must establish a direct link between the negligence alleged and the injury. In many instances, expert testimony is required along with the assistance from an attorney who specializes in Medical malpractice Law firms;
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medical malpractice law firm errors can be errors in diagnosis, such as misdiagnosing serious illnesses or conditions. The failure of a doctor to recognize cancer or any other medical condition, can have serious consequences for the patient. In this instance the patient may suffer unnecessarily pain and may even die. The doctor may have committed a mistake by not diagnosing the issue properly.
Proving that your doctor or hospital was negligent in treating you can be a long and complicated process. The evidence required could come from various sources, including medical records and test results, as and expert testimony from witnesses and oral depositions. An attorney can help you gather and interpret this evidence, as well as assist you during the deposition process.
It is important to keep in mind that only healthcare professionals can be sued for malpractice. Nurses and doctors, as opposed to receptionists in
medical malpractice lawyers centers, are expected to adhere to current standards of medical care. This means that medical professionals should be able to anticipate the consequences depending on their experience and knowledge.
Damages
In medical malpractice cases the courts consider monetary damages that are intended to compensate the victim. These damages can include the cost of medical bills in the past or in the future and lost wages, pain and discomfort, disfigurement or loss of enjoyment of living. In certain cases punitive damages could also be awarded. These are reserved for particularly serious behavior that society is interested in stopping.
A medical malpractice case begins by filing in court of an administrative summons. The parties then begin discovery. This is a process that requires both parties to take oaths to make statements. This could include requesting the exchange of documents such as medical records, deposing those involved in the lawsuit and conducting interviews with witnesses.
One of the primary elements to prove in a medical malpractice case is that the doctor owed a legal duty to provide healthcare and treatment to the patient. The second part is that the doctor violated this duty by failing to adhere the medical standard of practice. The third element is whether the breach resulted in harm to the patient.
It is crucial to remember that the statute of limitations (the legally-defined time frame within which a medical negligence claim must be filed) differs from state to state. In New York, the statute of limitations is two years and six months (30 months) from the date the date that the underlying cause of medical malpractice took place.
