Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice lawyer assists injured patients receive compensation for their losses. The common law system regulates medical malpractice lawsuits.

In the common law, doctors are required to adhere to a standard of care in treating their patients. If a doctor deviates from the accepted medical norms and results in a death or injury, he may be liable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals must adhere to a set standard accepted by the medical industry as being reasonable and prudent when providing healthcare. If the standards aren't followed and the result is injury or health complications patients may have grounds to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The first step in a malpractice lawsuit is to prove that you had an arrangement with a doctor-patient healthcare provider in question, and that the person or entity was obligated to act reasonably. You must then prove the breach occurred. This is usually done through the recourse to expert witnesses who can provide an objective analysis and assessment of the situation.

An expert witness can determine whether the defendant's actions are less than the accepted standard in your specific case. In order for the expert to determine this, they will need to be able review your medical records and conduct an examination or interview with you.

It is also necessary to prove that the breach of duty directly led you to suffer injuries. Causation is the 3rd element in a malpractice lawsuit. In the majority of cases, you will need to have an obvious cause-and effect relationship between the breach of duty and subsequent injury. A mistake in diagnosis, for instance, could lead to the wrong medication being prescribed or treatment being given. This could cause an adverse reaction, such as heart attacks.

Breach of Duty

Like all doctors medical professionals, doctors are under a legal obligation to act with care and caution. Doctors are held to higher standards, however, because they are medical experts and make life-or-death decisions. The duty of care can be found in laws and standards for certain types of treatments and procedures.

One of the first things that needs to be established in a negligence lawsuit is that the defendant was bound by a duty care to the plaintiff. It must be established that the defendant did not fulfill this duty of care. This means that the doctor failed to live up to the standard of care applicable to the situation. The standard of care is typically determined by what an ordinary person would do under the same situation. For example the reasonable driver would not speed through when there is a red light.

In a malpractice lawsuit expert witnesses could be required to testify about the standard of care that was violated and how this standard was breached. They can also discuss the reason behind the injury and what could have prevented it from happening.

Damages

Physicians in the United States are required to carry malpractice insurance to cover their potential losses arising from medical negligence. To file a lawsuit, the plaintiff will need to prove both financial losses (such medical expenses and lost wages) and noneconomic losses (such pain and suffering).

The amount of money you will receive from a successful malpractice lawsuit is contingent on the way in which your New York medical malpractice lawyer defends your losses. Your attorney will establish medically required costs by looking over your medical records, using expert testimony, and consulting economic experts. For the loss of your earnings the medical malpractice lawyer must show the number of times you were absent from work because of your medical complications and the fact that these absences were the result of the defendant's negligence.

Non-economic losses can be more difficult to prove and may require the assistance of a professional who will give evidence about your physical, emotional and mental pain because of the negligence of the defendant. Other kinds of non-economic damages include loss of consortium, which is an inability to maintain a romantic and sexual relationship like you used to with your spouse or significant other. The lawyer representing the defendant may challenge your non-economic damages with the help of interrogatories, depositions, and also requests for documents and sworn testimony.

Statute of Limitations

In New York, as with every state, there are certain time limitations - referred to as statutes of limitations within which a medical malpractice lawsuit must be filed or otherwise it could be dismissed by the courts. A New York medical malpractice attorney who is skilled will be familiar with the specifics of these deadlines and ensure that your claim is filed within the deadlines set forth by law.

In most cases, a victim of medical malpractice must file his or her lawsuit within two and a half years from the date at which the act or omission of a healthcare professional resulted in the death or injury. Like all laws, this rule has its exceptions. For instance if the error made by the health care professional was part of an ongoing course of treatment, the 30 month statutory "clock" will not start until the treatment is completed or when the patient is informed of the diagnosis.

In some instances for instance, when the foreign object remains in the body after surgery or treatment, it might not be possible for a patient to discover the issue until much later. For this reason, most states have adopted a legal concept called the discovery rule, which allows injured victims to extend deadlines in certain situations. Your attorney will know the specific rules in your state and carefully review your case timeline to avoid any administrative errors which could cause delays to your claim.