How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers a foreign object such as surgical clamps inside her body following gall bladder surgery may sue for medical negligence. A successful lawsuit must prove the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviation from this duty, [empty] direct cause, and injury.

It is important for our clients to establish a direct causal connection between the breach of duty and the resulting injury called proximate causation.

Causes of Injury

A medical malpractice claim can be filed either by the injured person or an attorney. Based on the circumstances, this could be a spouse of the patient or an adult child, parent, guardian ad Litem or the executor or administrator of the estate of the patient who died. The plaintiff in a medical malpractice suit is the health care provider. This could be an accredited doctor, nurse or therapist.

Expert testimony is usually required in cases of malpractice. Medical experts must be able to testify that the doctor did what was required of care in his or her special area of expertise. They must also testify to the harm that was caused by the actions or inactions of the doctor.

Injuries caused by negligence and negligence can be very serious. For instance, a wrong diagnosis of a health issue could have life-threatening consequences. Other kinds of injuries include operating on the wrong body part or leaving instruments inside the patient during surgery.

To prove a malpractice claim the patient must prove four legal elements: a duty the physician owed to them; a breach of this duty; a resultant injury and damages. In certain states, such as New York the law limits the amount of money awarded in a case of malpractice.

Causation

The injury element, also known as causation, is one the most important elements of a medical malpractice case. To establish causation the plaintiff must prove that the injury was caused by a physician's negligence. This can be a challenging job due to various reasons.

Many injuries that are the basis of medical negligence lawsuits result from long-term illnesses or conditions which were present before treatment began. The time period for filing woodinville medical malpractice lawsuit malpractice cases can be extended for a number of years and the development of injuries can happen slowly.

In these situations it is often difficult to prove that a particular medical professional's failure to adhere to the standards of care caused the injury. However, the patient who was hurt may be able to use the evidence collected by the attorney, like tavares medical malpractice lawsuit records and expert testimony.

During the discovery procedure that is part of the legal process for preparing for a trial, your lawyer can request the lawyers for the defendants be made aware of expert testimony and other documents. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit will then be called to testify during deposition, which is testimony under an oath. Your lawyer may challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has substantiated all the elements of the case which include breach of duty, breach and causation.

Negligence

If a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed, the plaintiff will have to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor committed a breach of professional obligations and that those violations caused harm. The plaintiff's lawyer has to show this through evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which includes seeking disclosure of documents, which includes medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, in which the statements are made under oath, and recorded for use at trial, are also a part of this procedure.

A doctor has violated their professional obligation if they did something a reasonable prudent physician would not have done in similar circumstances. It must be proven that the breach resulted in injury directly to the patient. This is known as causation or causal proximate causes. For example the patient is admitted to the hospital for a hernia surgery and is later told that he or the gall bladder removed instead. This is medical negligence as the removal was not beneficial for the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a legally defined period of time, referred to as the statute of limitations which is different for each state. The injured patient must establish that the substandard care caused injury and then he or she must show how much compensation he or she deserves.

Damages

You should be compensated for any injuries you've suffered as a result of medical negligence. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive a fair and complete compensation for your losses.

The first step is to file and serve a summons and complaint to all named defendants in the lawsuit. The parties engage in discovery. It is a process where documents and evidence are presented under the oath. Medical records and the notes of the doctor are typically sought during discovery.

In many states, to receive compensation for injuries sustained by malpractice, you have to establish four elements: a duty of care due to the healthcare provider and a breach of that duty; a causal link between the breach and injury and damages caused by the injury. If your lawyer can prove all of these elements, you can make a an argument for financial recovery in a medical malpractice case.

In some cases the court can give punitive damages, which are intended to punish the perpetrator and discourage others from engaging in similar conduct. However, this isn't the norm in medical malpractice cases as the courts require extremely clear evidence of malice to award these extraordinary awards.