How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds an object that is foreign, for example, surgical clamps inside her body after gall bladder surgery could make a claim for medical malpractice. A successful lawsuit must prove the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviance from this obligation, direct cause and injury.

It is essential for our clients to establish a direct relationship between the breach of duty and the injury which is referred to as proximate cause.

Cause of Injury

A medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed either by the injured person or an attorney. Based on the circumstances, this could be a spouse of the patient, an adult child or parent, guardian ad Litem or the executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased patient. The plaintiff in a medical malpractice law firm malpractice lawsuit is the health care provider. This could be a doctor, nurse or therapist, or medical malpractice any other health professional.

Malpractice cases usually require a lot of expert testimony. Medical experts are required to testify whether or whether the health professional was in compliance with the standard of care for their particular field. They also have to testify about the injury caused by the physician's actions or actions or.

Injuries resulting from malpractice and negligence can be very severe. For example, a mistake in the diagnosis of a health problem could have life-threatening effects. Other types of injuries involve operating on the wrong body part or putting surgical instruments in the patient.

To establish a malpractice claim, the patient must prove four legal elements: a duty the doctor owed them; a breach of the breach; a resulting injury; and damages. In some states such as New York the law limits the amount of money that can be awarded in a malpractice case.

Causation

The injury element, medical malpractice also known as causation, is one the most crucial elements in a medical malpractice case. To prove causation, a plaintiff must demonstrate that they suffered an injury on the basis of probabilities as a result of the physician's negligence. This is a challenging task due to a variety of reasons.

Many injuries that are the basis for a medical negligence lawsuit result from long-term illnesses or conditions that existed prior to when treatment began. The time period for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit can be extended for a number of years and injuries can develop slowly.

In these situations, it is difficult to prove that one particular medical professional's breach of standards of care caused the injury. However, the aggrieved patient could be able to make use of the evidence gathered by the attorney, such as medical records and expert testimony.

During the process of discovery that is part of the legal process preparation for a trial, your lawyer may request that the defendants' lawyers disclose expert testimony and other documents. The doctor who is representing the case will be asked to give a deposition. This is a testimony which is under oath. Your lawyer will be able to cross-examine doctor and contest their conclusions. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has proved the elements of the case including breach of duty and causation.

Negligence

When a medical negligence claim is filed, the plaintiff will have to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the physician violated professional duties and that the breaches resulted in injury. The plaintiff's lawyer must demonstrate this by presenting evidence through pretrial discovery, which entails the disclosure of documents, including medical records from all parties who are involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, in which statements are made under oath and recorded for use in trial, are also part of this process.

A doctor violated his or her professional obligation if he or she did something that a prudent doctor would not do in the same circumstances. It must be established that the breach resulted in injury directly to the patient. This is known as causation or the proximate cause. For example when a patient is taken to the hospital for a hernia procedure and ends up having his or his gall bladder removed instead. This is medical negligence because the procedure was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a specific legal time frame, also known as the statute of limitations. This differs from state-to-state. The person who suffered the injury must demonstrate that the treatment was substandard and caused injury, and then they have to prove the amount of compensation they're entitled to.

Damages

You deserve to be compensated for any injuries you have suffered as a result of medical negligence. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive full and fair compensation for your losses.

The first step is filing and serving an order and complaint on all defendants named in the lawsuit. The parties then participate in discovery, a procedure in which documents and statements are made public under an oath. During discovery medical records and doctor's notes are typically requested.

In most states, in order to receive compensation for injuries caused through malpractice, you need to establish four elements: a duty of care due to the healthcare provider, a breach of this duty; a causal link between the breach and injury; and damages that result from the injury. If your attorney can establish all of these elements, then you've got a strong case for financial recovery in a medical negligence claim.

In certain cases courts may give punitive damages, which are designed to punish the offender and deter others from engaging in similar conduct. This is rare however, particularly in medical malpractice cases. The courts must have clear evidence of malice before they can award these extraordinary damages.