Medical Malpractice Litigation

Medical malpractice litigation can be complicated and time-consuming. It is also costly for both plaintiff and defendant.

To receive compensation in the form of monetary damages for malpractice, a patient must establish that the substandard medical treatment led to their injury. This involves establishing four legal elements: a professional duty and breach of duty as well as injury and damages.

Discovery

One of the most important elements of a medical negligence case is obtaining evidence through written interrogatories as well as requests for the production of documents. Interrogatories comprise of questions that the opposing side must answer under oath and are used to establish facts that can be presented in a trial. Requests for documents are used to request tangible items, such as medical records and test results.

In many cases, your attorney will attend the defendant's deposition, which is a recorded question and answer session. This permits your attorney to ask the witness or doctor questions that would not be permitted at trial. It can be very beneficial in cases involving expert witnesses.

The information you gather during pretrial discovery is used at trial to prove the following elements of your claim:

Breach of the standard of care

Injury caused by the violation of the standard of care

Proximate causation

A doctor's failure to apply the level of expertise and knowledge held by doctors in their area of specialty and that proximately caused injury to the patient

Mediation

Medical malpractice trials are necessary but they also have many disadvantages. The expense, stress and time commitment that a trial requires can have a negative impact on plaintiffs. A trial can result in humiliation and a loss of respect for defendant health care professionals. It can also result in negative consequences for their profession and practice because the financial settlements made as part of a pretrial settlement are typically reported to national databanks for practitioners and state medical licensing boards, and medical societies.

Mediation is the most cost-effective, time-efficient and risk-effective method of resolving the medical malpractice case. Parties can negotiate more freely when they are not burdened by the expense of a trial, and the risk of jury verdicts to be eroded.

Both parties must give brief details of the dispute to the mediator before mediation (a "mediation brief"). The parties usually allow their communication to pass through their lawyer rather than directly between themselves at this stage because direct communications could be used against them later in court. As the mediation proceeds it is a good idea for you to focus on your case's strengths, and be prepared to recognize its weaknesses. This will enable the mediator to fill any gaps and give you a reasonable offer.

Trial

The goal of tort reformers is to create a system which compensates those injured by physician negligence quickly and without huge costs. Many states have adopted tort reform measures to reduce costs and stop the filing of frivolous claims for medical malpractice.

The majority of doctors in United States have malpractice insurance as a way to protect themselves from allegations of professional negligence. Some of these policies are required in order to obtain hospital privileges or employment in a medical group.

In order to receive compensation for injuries caused due to negligence by a medical professional, the patient who has suffered injury must prove that the doctor failed to meet the standards of care that is applicable to the profession in which they practice. This concept is known as proximate causes and is a crucial element of a medical malpractice lawsuit.

A lawsuit is initiated when a civil summons has been filed in the court of your choice. Once this is completed each party must participate in a process of disclosure. This can be done through written interrogatories, and the production of documents, like medical record. Depositions (in which attorneys ask deponents under oath) as well as requests for admission are also involved.

The burden of proof in the case of medical malpractice is extremely high. The damages awarded are calculated based on the actual economic loss like lost income, the cost of future medical care and noneconomic losses such as pain and suffering. It is crucial to consult with an experienced lawyer when you are you are pursuing a medical negligence claim.

Settlement

Settlements are the most common way to settle medical malpractice lawsuits. In general, the actual dollar value of a case is negotiated between the plaintiff and Medical malpractice lawsuits the defendants (often through or alongside the defendant's malpractice/professional liability insurer). The result is a check for the patient, which is given to the lawyer of the plaintiff who then deposits the check into an escrow account. The attorney deducts the legal fees and case expenses in accordance with the representation agreement, and then pays the injured patients compensation.

To win a medical malpractice lawsuit, the aggrieved patient has to demonstrate that a doctor or other healthcare provider was bound by a duty of care, but breached that duty by failing exercise the requisite degree of knowledge and skill in their field, and that in direct consequence of the breach, the patient suffered injuries, and that these injuries can be quantified in terms of monetary losses.

The United States has a system of 94 federal district courts, which are essentially state trial courts. And each of these courts has an appointed judge and jury panel which decides on cases. In certain situations the case of medical malpractice attorney negligence may be transferred to one of these federal district courts. In the United States, physicians carry medical malpractice insurance to safeguard themselves against claims of injury that was not intended. Doctors must be aware of structure and operation of our legal system to take appropriate action if a claim is brought against them.