How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds an object that is foreign, for example, surgical clamps inside her body following gall bladder surgery could file a lawsuit for medical malpractice. A successful claim must establish the legal aspects of medical negligence: duty, deviation from this duty, direct cause, and injury.

Our clients must establish a direct connection between the breach of duty, and the injury. This is known as the proximate reason.

Cause of Injury

A claim for Crestline medical malpractice Lawsuit malpractice can be filed by the victim or a legal representative. This could be the spouse or adult child parent, guardian, or administrator of the estate of a deceased patient depending on the specific circumstances. The plaintiff in a lawsuit for medical malpractice is the health care provider. This could be a nurse, doctor or therapist, or any other health care professional.

Malpractice cases usually involve a lot of expert testimony. Medical experts must determine if the healthcare provider was acting in accordance with the standards of care in his or her specific area of expertise. They must also testify as to the harm caused by the doctor’s actions or inactions.

The injuries that result from malpractice and negligence can be very serious. For example, a misdiagnosis of a medical condition could have life-threatening consequences. Other kinds of injuries include operating on the wrong part or putting instruments inside the patient during surgery.

The patient must establish four legal elements of a malpractice lawsuit: a duty owed to the patient by the doctor; a breach of this duty; injury caused by the breach and the consequential damages. In certain states, like New York, the law restricts the amount that can be awarded in a malpractice claim.

Causation

The injury element, also referred to as causation, is among the most crucial elements in medical malpractice cases. To establish causation, the plaintiff must prove that they sustained the injury based on a balance of probabilities due to of the negligence of the doctor. This can be a challenging task for a number of reasons.

A lot of the injuries that form the basis for a medical negligence lawsuit result from long-term illnesses or conditions which were present before treatment started. Often the statute of limitations for a medical malpractice claim extends over a variety of years, and injuries can develop gradually.

In these instances it can be difficult to prove that a particular medical professional's breach of the standard of care led to the injury. However, the patient who was hurt could be able to use the evidence collected by the attorney, such as medical documents and expert testimony.

During the discovery process, which is part of the legal process for prepping for trial, your lawyer can request the disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from the lawyers representing the defendants. The doctor defending the lawsuit will then be asked to give evidence during depositions, which are testimony given under an oath. Your lawyer can cross-examine the doctor and challenge the doctor's findings. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has proved all the elements of the case including breach of duty and causation.

Negligence

When a medical malpractice claim is filed in court, the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor breached his or her professional duties and that those breaches caused injury. The lawyer representing the plaintiff must show this through evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which entails asking for disclosure of documents such as medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. The process also involves sworn statements that are recorded and used in trial.

A doctor was in breach of his or her professional duty when he or she did something that a prudent physician would not do in the same circumstances. However, it must be proven that the breach directly caused the injury to the patient. This is called causation or the proximate cause. A patient may visit the hospital to repair a hernia, but instead end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical negligence as the removal did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a specific legal time frame, also known as the statute of limitations. This varies from state to state. The person who has suffered injury must prove that the negligent care resulted in injury, and then he or she must prove how much monetary compensation he or she is entitled to.

Damages

If medical negligence has led you to suffer injury, you deserve to be made whole. At Scaffidi & Associates, we can help you receive an adequate and fair amount of compensation for your loss.

The first step is to file and serve an order and complaint on all defendants named in the lawsuit. The parties participate in discovery. It is a process in which documents and declarations are revealed under the oath. cincinnati medical malpractice law firm records and notes of the doctor are typically sought during discovery.

In most states, you have to demonstrate four elements in order to be compensated for injuries caused by medical malpractice which includes a duty to the healthcare provider; a breach of that duty; a causal relationship between the breach and the injury suffered by the patient and damages resulting from the injury. If your lawyer can prove all of these elements, you can make a a strong case for financial recovery in a medical malpractice case.

In certain instances courts may make punitive damages available, which are intended to penalize the perpetrator and discourage others from committing the same offense. This is not the norm however, in medical malpractice cases. The courts must have very clear evidence of malice before they can make these extraordinary awards.