Medical Malpractice Litigation

Medical malpractice litigation is complex and time-consuming. Both plaintiffs and defendants are also legally required to pay an expensive cost.

To receive compensation in the form of monetary damages for malpractice, a patient must establish that the substandard medical treatment that they received caused their injury. This involves establishing four legal elements which include professional duty, breach of that duty or breach, injury, and damages.

Discovery

The most important element of a medical negligence lawsuit is the gathering of evidence. This can be accomplished through written interrogatories or requests for documents. Interrogatories are questions that need to be answered under the oath of the party opposing to the lawsuit. They can be used to establish the facts to be presented at trial. Requests for production of documents allow for tangible items to be retrieved like medical records or test results.

In many cases, your attorney will record the deposition of the defendant's physician that is an recorded session of questions and answers. This allows your attorney to ask the witness or doctor questions that might not be allowed during trial. It can be extremely helpful in cases involving experts as witnesses.

The information you gather during pretrial discovery is used during trial to establish the following elements of your claim:

Breach of the standard of care

The injury is caused by the breach of the standard of care

Proximate cause

A doctor's inability to use the degree of knowledge and skill held by doctors in their area of specialization and that caused injury to the patient

Mediation

Although medical malpractice trials are often necessary, they have significant negatives for both sides. For plaintiffs they are stressed, and the expense, and the commitment to trial can result in a negative psychological impact on them. For defendant health care professionals trials can result in humiliation and loss of respect. It can also have negative effects on their career as well as practice because the monetary payments they make as part of a settlement prior to trial are reported to national databases for practitioners and to the state medical licensing body, and medical societies.

Mediation is a cheaper, time-efficient, and risk-effective way to resolve cases of medical malpractice lawsuits negligence. Parties can negotiate more freely when they don't have the cost of a trial, and the possibility of jury verdicts to be diminished.

Both parties must give brief details of the dispute for the mediator prior to mediation (a "mediation brief"). In this stage, parties will typically communicate via their lawyer, and not directly with each other. Direct communication can be used as evidence against them in court. As the mediation progresses it is recommended to concentrate on the strengths of your case and be ready to acknowledge its weaknesses, as well. This will enable the mediator to fill any gaps and give you an appropriate offer.

Trial

The aim of those who work on tort reform is to devise a system that compensates those who have been injured by medical negligence promptly and without cost. A number of states have enacted tort reform measures to reduce costs and prevent frivolous claims for medical malpractice.

Most doctors in the United States carry malpractice insurance to cover themselves against accusations of professional negligence in medical instances. Certain of these policies are required as a condition of hospital privileges or work within a medical company.

To receive compensation for injuries caused by the negligence of a medical professional the injured patient must demonstrate that the doctor failed to meet the standard of care that is applicable to the profession in which they practice. This is referred to as proximate cause, and is a crucial element of a medical malpractice lawsuit.

A lawsuit begins when a civil summons is filed in the court of your choice. Once this is complete each party must participate in an act of disclosure. This can include written interrogatories and the issuance of documents such as medical records. Depositions (in which attorneys question deponents under the oath), and requests for admission are also involved.

In a claim for medical malpractice, the burden of proof is heavy. Damages are awarded based on both economic losses (such as lost income or the expense of future medical treatment) and non-economic damages, such as pain and discomfort. It is important to work with an experienced attorney when trying to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Settlement

Settlements are the most commonly used way to resolve medical malpractice lawsuits. In general, the actual dollar value of a case is negotiated between the plaintiff and the defendants (often through or alongside the defendant's malpractice/professional liability insurer). The victim is awarded an amount of money and it is given to the plaintiff's lawyer who deposits it in an account for escrow. The lawyer deducts expenses and legal costs as per the representation agreement, and the injured patient receives compensation.

To prevail in a medical negligence case, the patient who has suffered must prove that a physician or other healthcare professional was obligated to them under a duty of care, but breached that duty by failing to apply the necessary level of knowledge and skill in their field, that as a proximate result of that breach, the patient suffered injuries, and that these damages are quantifiable in terms of monetary loss.

The United States has a system of 94 federal district courts, which are equivalent to state trial courts. each of these courts has jurors and judges which decides on cases. In certain situations, a medical negligence case could be transferred to one of the federal district courts. Physicians in the United States typically carry medical malpractice insurance to safeguard themselves against claims of intentional harm or wrongdoing. Physicians should be aware of the nature and workings of our legal system to ensure they can respond appropriately to a lawsuit brought against them.