How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds a foreign object such as surgical clamps in her body after gall bladder surgery can file a lawsuit for medical negligence. A successful lawsuit must prove the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviance from this obligation, 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 medical malpractice claim can be filed by the victim or an attorney. Depending on the circumstances, it could be the spouse of the patient or an adult child parent, a guardian ad litem or the executor or administrator of the estate of the patient who died. In a case of medical malpractice the defendant is the health care provider. This could be a nurse, doctor or therapist, or any other licensed health professional.

The majority of cases involving malpractice involve the testimony of experts. Medical experts must determine if the health care provider acted within the standard of treatment in their particular field of expertise. They also have to testify to the harm that was caused by the actions or inactions of the doctor.

Injury caused by negligence and mistakes can be catastrophic. A mistake in diagnosis can have devastating consequences, like a life-threatening condition. Other kinds of injuries include performing surgery on the wrong body part or leaving instruments inside the patient during surgery.

The patient must prove four legal elements of a malpractice claim: a duty owed to the patient by the physician; a breach of this obligation; a harm caused by the breach; and the consequential damages. In some states, like New Brighton Medical Malpractice Attorney York, the law places a limit on the amount of money that can be awarded in a malpractice claim.

Causation

The injury element, also known as causation, is one of the most crucial elements in medical malpractice cases. To establish causation, the plaintiff must prove that their injury was caused by a physician's negligence. This can be a challenging task due to a variety of reasons.

For instance, many injuries that are the basis of a medical malpractice lawsuit stem from long-term or ongoing ailments that were present prior to treatment. The time limit for a medical malpractice case could be extended over the course of several years and injuries can develop slowly.

In these situations, it is difficult to prove that a particular medical professional's breach of the standard of care led to the injury. The attorney could have gathered evidence, such as medical records and expert testimony, that the injured patient may use.

During the discovery process, which is a component of the legal procedure preparing for trial, your lawyer could request disclosure of expert testimony as well as other documents from defense attorneys of the defendants. The doctor who is defending the case will be asked to appear in deposition. This is a testimonies which is under an oath. Your lawyer will be able to cross-examine doctor and contest the doctor's findings. The jury will decide then if the plaintiff has proved the essential elements of their case such as the duty of care, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

The plaintiff must convince jurors, when filing a claim for medical malpractice, that it is likely that the doctor violated his or her responsibilities as a physician and that those breaches resulted in injury. The lawyer representing the plaintiff must prove this using evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which includes requesting disclosure of documents including medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. The process also involves swearing statements that are recorded and used in trial.

A doctor has violated his or her professional obligations when he or she did something that a prudent physician would not do in similar circumstances. However it must be proved that the breach directly caused injury to the patient. This is referred to as causation, or proxy causes. A patient may visit a hospital to repair a hernia, however, they end up having their gall bladder removed. This is la porte medical malpractice attorney malpractice since the removal of the gall bladder was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a certain time frame, also known as the statute of limitations. This differs from state-to-state. The victim must prove that the substandard treatment resulted in injury, and after that they must show what compensation they deserve.

Damages

If a medical error has caused you to suffer a traumatic injury, you should be compensated. At Scaffidi & Associates, we can assist you in obtaining the full and fair compensation for your loss.

The first step in a lawsuit is to make a complaint and serve it or summons, as well as other documents on all defendants. The parties then engage in discovery, a procedure in which documents and declarations are made public under oath. Medical records and the notes of the doctor are typically sought during discovery.

In most states, you have to establish four elements to be compensated for injuries caused by medical malpractice that is a duty owed by the healthcare provider; a breach of that duty; a causal connection between the breach and the injury suffered by the patient and the damages that result from the injury. If your lawyer can demonstrate all of these elements in a medical negligence claim, you will have an impressive case.

In certain cases the court can decide to award punitive damages. These are intended to penalize the wrongdoer and deter others from engaging in similar misconduct. But, this isn't often the case in medical malpractice cases since courts require precise proof of malice before they can give these extraordinary awards.