Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice lawyer assists injured patients receive compensation for their losses. The legal system that regulates medical malpractice cases is based on common law.

Under common law, doctors are expected to adhere to a specific standard of care when treating patients. If a doctor is not following the accepted medical norms and causes an injury or death, he may be liable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of standards that are recognized by the medical profession as being reasonable and prudent in their medical care. Patients may be eligible to file a claim against a medical professional if those standards aren't being met and the breach causes injuries or health complications.

The first part of a malpractice claim is to establish that you had a doctor-patient relationship with the healthcare provider in question, and that the entity or person was bound to act in a reasonable way. The next step is to prove the breach of the obligation occurred. This is usually done through the recourse to expert witnesses who can provide an objective analysis and assessment of the situation.

The expert witness will be able determine if the defendant's actions were below the accepted standard of care in your particular circumstance. In order for the expert to make this determination they must be able to examine your medical records and conduct an examination or interview with you.

You must also establish that the breach directly led to your injury. Causation is the third factor in a claim for malpractice. In most cases, you'll require a direct cause & result connection between the breach of duty and the resulting injury. For instance, a wrong diagnosis could result in the wrong treatment or medication being administered, which could result in an adverse reaction like heart attacks.

Breach of Duty

Physicians, like all other individuals, have a legal obligation to behave with reasonable care and prudence. However, doctors are held to an even higher standard due to the fact that they are considered experts in medicine who make life and death decisions. The duty of care is set in the rules and regulations that apply to certain types of treatments and procedures.

One of the most important elements that needs to be established in a negligence case is that the defendant owed a duty to care to the plaintiff. Then, it needs to be proven that the defendant did not fulfill that duty of care. This means that the doctor did not live up to the standard of care appropriate to the circumstances. The standard of care is typically determined by what a reasonable individual would do in similar circumstances. A reasonable driver, for instance would not use a traffic light.

In a case of malpractice, experts are often required to testify on the standard of care and the manner in which it was breached. They can also provide a detailed explanation of the reason for the injury and what could be done to prevent it from occurring.

Damages

In the United States, physicians are required to have malpractice insurance to cover any potential loss that may result due to medical negligence. In order to make a claim for damages the plaintiff has to prove 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 in a successful lawsuit is contingent upon how well your New York medical malpractice attorney will argue for your losses. Your attorney will establish medically necessary expenses by examining your medical records, utilizing expert testimony, and consulting economic experts. Your oviedo medical malpractice lawsuit malpractice attorney must prove your lost earnings by proving the amount of days you were absent from work due to medical conditions, and also that these missed days were due to the defendant’s negligence.

Non-economic damages can be harder to prove. You may need assistance from an expert witness who can explain your physical, mental and emotional suffering as directly resulting from the defendant's negligence. Loss in consortium is another type of non-economic damage. It is the inability to have a romantic, sexual connection with your spouse, or any other significant individual as you once did. The defendant's attorney will challenge your non-economic damages through a process of depositions, interrogatories, and requests for documents and statements under oath.

Statute of limitations

In New York, as with every state, there's a set of deadlines - commonly referred to as statutes of limitation within which a medical negligence lawsuit must be filed, or otherwise it could be dismissed by the courts. A New York medical malpractice attorney who has experience is well-versed in the nuances of these deadlines and Vimeo ensure that your claim is filed before the deadlines set by law.

In the majority of cases, the victim of medical negligence must be able to file a lawsuit within two and a half years from the time the act or omission of medical professionals resulted in injury or death. As with all laws, this one is not without exceptions. For instance, if the error committed by the health professional was a part of a continual treatment plan, then the "clock" of 30 months will not begin until the course of treatment is completed or the patient has been informed of the diagnosis.

Additionally, in certain instances, such as when a foreign object is left inside the body after surgery or treatment, it might not be possible for a patient to realize the issue until much later. Because of this, many states have enacted a legal concept called the discovery rule, Vimeo which allows injured victims to extend these deadlines in certain circumstances. Your lawyer will be well-versed in the laws of your state and will review your case's timeline carefully to avoid administrative mistakes that could impede your claim.