How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

Medical malpractice cases are typically complex. An experienced attorney can guide you through this complicated process and help you understand your rights.

In order to file a malpractice claim you must prove that your doctor or other healthcare professional violated their duty of care to you. This breach resulted in a negative legal outcome for you, like an unfavorable outcome for your medical treatment or financial loss.

Birth defects

The excitement of parents when they witness the birth of their child is unmatched. Unfortunately, it's also a time when medical concerns can arise. These can include issues related to birth defects, like cleft lips and missing limbs or congenital heart conditions and muscular dystrophy. It is possible to file a malpractice claim if a doctor's negligence caused these issues during pregnancy or during delivery.

Birth defects can be caused by various reasons, including exposure to prescription medications, malpractice toxic chemicals, environmental factors and prenatal health issues. The responsibility of the doctor to ensure the well-being and wellbeing of the mother and fetus involves performing appropriate screening tests, identifying and treating anomalies during pregnancy and conducting appropriate tests for screening.

Medical experts must determine if a doctor's negligence in the diagnosis or treatment of the condition was negligent and caused serious injury. To establish negligence, an expert must review the standards of care that a doctor would have adhered to under similar circumstances and demonstrate that the doctor deviated from that standard and caused the injury or death.

It is important to speak to any eyewitnesses, and also collect evidence at the site of the accident. This can include witnesses at the hospital as well as other patients or their families, nurses and more. Also, you must take photographs of your child's injuries to show how severe they are.

Maternal deaths

Every year, between 700 and 900 women die of complications arising from pregnancy or childbirth. This is a staggering figure and especially for a country in the first world, like the United States. USA Today recently reported that many of these deaths could have been avoided with better hospital care.

Some of the main causes for maternal death are obstetric emergency that include severe blood loss during delivery or hemorrhage that follows, and pre-existing conditions like obesity and diabetes that affect childbirth and pregnancy. Doctors also need to watch for warning signs, like high blood pressure, which may lead to preeclampsia, a potentially dangerous condition. Preeclampsia could cause a premature separation from the placenta and seizures. It may also lead to the life-threatening condition known as HELLP Syndrome.

Medical malpractice lawsuits that involve gynecology and obstetrics are among the most common kinds of lawsuits filed in the United States. In a malpractice claim the plaintiff must demonstrate that a doctor or healthcare provider violated a recognized standard of care that caused the plaintiff to suffer injury or die. The standard of care is defined by the legal community and differs from state to state. Despite the high number of malpractice law firm lawsuits, most of them settlements are not subject to trial. Settlements are typically reached through direct negotiations between parties, and frequently involves the assistance of a neutral third party, such as a mediator (often retired judges or lawyers). Medical malpractice lawsuits are not the only way to stop a doctor from practicing immediately.

Injuries as a result of surgery

Medical advances have drastically reduced the risk of adverse results from surgery, however they are still possible. When they do occur they can cause serious injuries. These injuries aren't only painful and uncomfortable, but they could also lead to expensive corrective surgeries, expensive medical expenses as well as extended recovery time or even death.

Some surgical errors are not malpractice. For a case to be successful it must be established that medical professionals failed to follow the established guidelines for a procedure, and that the failure directly led to injuries. A case of medical malpractice include:

Surgery performed on the wrong site, where the surgeon performs surgery on a body part other than what was intended leaving a sponge, scalpel or another item inside the patient, which can cause puncture or cutting a nerve or organ, causing infections by improperly cleaned and sanitized tools and instruments, etc.

A lawsuit based on a surgical error could be a complex issue therefore it is essential to seek the advice of an attorney who has expertise in medical malpractice. It is also important to document any injuries, including photographs, as well as make notes on any information you think could be relevant to the claim. A surgical error lawsuit can take several years to settle, but it's worth it when your doctor made a error that resulted in injury. This is particularly true if you sustained serious injuries that seriously hinder your quality of life.

Wrongful death

Losing a loved one be very stressful, but when the death is due to negligence of another the experience can be extremely painful. Under the law of the state you may be able start a lawsuit against other party to collect damages.

A wrongful death case is different from a medical malpractice claim because it affects a person's lives rather than their health. Because of this, the requirement for proof is higher and must be proved beyond the reasonable doubt that the loved one's death was due to another party's negligence.

For example, Joan's husband died from a lung tumor that was missed by an xray. His death was caused by an uninformed doctor who did not observe the symptoms of his patient and also to conduct an MRI when the patient had trouble breathing. The delay in treatment caused the tumor to expand irreparably.

In this instance the family members of the patient could make a claim for wrongful death against the hospital and doctor. The kind of damages you are able to claim depends on the laws in your state, just as in a medical malpractice claim. They can cover both economic and non-economic losses, like funeral costs loss of consortium, funeral expenses and suffering prior to the death of the victim. Punitive damages are a possibility in wrongful-death claims. This amount isn't covered in all cases, but it's an option if the death of the victim was especially severe or the result of multiple mistakes.