Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice lawyer can help injured patients receive compensation for their losses. The common law system regulates medical malpractice claims.

In the common law, doctors are expected to follow a certain standard of care when treating patients. If a physician does not follow the accepted medical norms and results in an injury or death, he may be liable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals must adhere to set standards that are accepted by the medical profession as reasonable and prudent in providing healthcare. If those standards are not followed and the result is injuries or health issues, a patient may have grounds to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The first part of a malpractice lawsuit is to prove that you had a doctor-patient relationship with the healthcare provider in question and that the entity or person was obligated to act with reasonable care. You then need to prove that the breach occurred. This is usually accomplished by using expert testimony that can provide a objective analysis and evaluation.

This expert witness can help determine whether the defendant's actions were below the accepted standard in your case. In order for the expert to make this decision, they will need to be able to look over your medical records and conduct an examination or interview of you.

You must be able to show that the breach directly led to your injury. This is known as causation and it is the third requirement of a malpractice claim. In the majority of cases, you'll need a direct cause and result connection between the breach of duties and the subsequent injury. A misdiagnosis, for example can result in prescribing the wrong medication or treatment being administered. This in turn can cause an adverse reaction such as heart attacks.

Breach of Duty

Like all doctors who are legally obligated to act, doctors also have an obligation to exercise the utmost care and caution. However, doctors are held to an even more stringent standard because they are considered medical experts and deal with life and death decisions. The obligation of care is defined in the laws and standards which are applicable to specific types of procedures and treatments.

One of the primary elements that must be proven in a negligence lawsuit is that the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff. It must be established that the defendant breached this obligation of care. This means that the doctor failed to meet the standard of care in the specific circumstance. The standard of care is typically determined by what a normal person would do under similar situations. For example the reasonable driver would not run a red light.

In a malpractice case, experts are usually needed to testify about the standard of care and medical malpractice attorney how it was violated. They can also explain the cause of the injury and what could have been done to avoid it from happening.

Damages

Physicians in the United States are required to carry malpractice insurance to cover their potential losses arising from medical negligence. In order to make a claim for damages, the plaintiff must prove both actual financial losses (such as medical expenses and lost wages) as well as non-economic losses (such as pain and suffering).

The amount of compensation you receive from a successful malpractice lawsuit is contingent upon how well your New York medical malpractice attorney defends your losses. Your attorney will establish medically necessary expenses by examining your medical records, using expert testimony, and collaborating with economic experts. In order to prove your loss of earnings the medical malpractice lawyer must also show the number of times you were away from work due to medical conditions and the fact that these missed work days resulted from the defendant's negligence.

Non-economic losses can be more difficult to prove and may require the assistance of a professional who can be able to testify about your physical, emotional, and mental suffering as a result of the infractions committed by the defendant. Other kinds of non-economic damages include loss of consortium, which is an inability to maintain a loving and sexual relationship as you did with your spouse or significant other. The lawyer for the defendant will attempt to challenge the non-economic damages you suffer through a process of depositions, interrogatories, and requests for statements and documents under swearing.

Statute of limitations

In New York, as with every state, there are definite time frames - also known as statutes of limitations - within which a medical negligence lawsuit must be filed, or else it will be dismissed by the courts. A New York medical malpractice attorney (vimeo.com) who is knowledgeable will be well-versed in the specifics of these deadlines. They will also ensure that your claim is filed before the deadlines stipulated by law.

In the majority of cases, a victim of franklin medical malpractice lawyer malpractice must file his or her lawsuit within two and a half years from the date that the negligence or act of a medical professional caused the injury or death. As with all laws this law is not without exceptions. For instance in the event that the error by the health professional was part of a continuous course of treatment, the 30 month legal "clock" will not begin until that course of treatment is completed or until the patient is informed of the diagnosis.

In some cases, a patient may not realize the problem until a long time later, for example when a foreign object remains in the body following surgery or treatment. To tackle this issue, the majority of states have adopted what is known as the discovery rule. This permits injured victims in certain situations to extend their deadlines. Your attorney will be aware of specific laws of your state and will look over your case's timeline in order to avoid administrative errors that could impede your claim.