How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Many medical malpractice lawsuits demand a significant amount of time and resources from both doctors and attorneys. This can include attorney time, court fees expert witness fees, and other costs.

A traumatic injury caused by an healthcare professional's negligence, incompetence, error or omission can result in a medical malpractice claim. The injured party can seek compensation for economic losses, like past or future medical bills as well as non-monetary damages, like pain and discomfort.

Complaint

A medical malpractice case is complex and requires evidence of credibility to be successful. The patient who has been injured or their attorney, when the patient has passed away must prove each of these legal elements:

A hospital or doctor was bound to act in accordance with the applicable standard of care. The defendant erred in his duty. The breach directly caused injury to plaintiff. This element of a malpractice claim is called "causation." A breach of the standard of care itself does not cause an injury, but it has to be proved that the breach directly caused the injury and was the primary cause of the injury.

It is often necessary to file a complaint with a state medical board in order to safeguard the rights of the patient and ensure that the doctor does not commit any further mistakes. But, filing a report does not start an action and is usually only a first step in moving the malpractice claim. It is usually recommended to speak with a Syracuse malpractice lawyer before filing a report, or any other type of document.

Summons

As part of the legal procedure, a summons or claim form is filed with the court and handed to the doctor who is the defendant. A lawyer appointed by the court for the plaintiff will then review these documents and, if it is found that there is an incident of malpractice the lawyer will file an affidavit and complaint with the court, describing the Eatonton medical Malpractice attorney error that is claimed to be the cause.

The next step is to gather evidence through pretrial disclosure. This involves submitting requests to document like hospital billing records and clinic notes and conducting a deposition of the doctor who is being sued in which attorneys ask the defendant on his or his knowledge of the situation under oath.

The plaintiff's attorney will use this information to demonstrate the elements of a medical malpractice case at trial. These include the existence of a duty on the doctor's part to provide medical care and treatment to patients; the doctor's breach of this duty; causality between the breach and the patient's death or injury; and a sufficient amount of damages that result from the death or injury to be able to justify a monetary compensation.

Discovery

During the discovery phase where both parties are permitted to request evidence that is relevant to their case. This includes medical records prior to and after an incident of alleged negligence, details about experts as well as copies of tax returns or other documents related to expenses out of pocket the plaintiff claims to have attributable to them, and the names and contact details of witnesses who will be appearing during the trial.

Most states have a statute-of-limitations that limit the length of time that a patient is allowed to sue after being injured by medical error. These time limits are typically determined by the law of the state and they are subject to rules referred to as the "discovery rule."

In order to win a medical negligence lawsuit, a patient who has been injured must demonstrate that the negligence of the doctor caused a specific injury such as physical pain, or loss of income. They must also prove causation, i.e. that negligence caused their death or injury.

Deposition

Depositions are questions-and-answer sessions which take place in the presence a court reporter, who takes notes of the questions as well in the responses. The deposition is part of the discovery procedure, which is about gathering information that can be used in the course of a trial.

Depositions permit attorneys to ask witnesses, usually doctors, a series of questions. When a physician is questioned, he or she must answer the questions truthfully under the oath. Typically, the doctor is initially questioned by an attorney and then interviewed by another attorney. This is a crucial stage in the case and the physician must give it their full attention.

A deposition is a great method for lawyers to obtain details about the doctor, including his or his education, training and experience. This information is crucial to showing that the doctor violated your standard of care and that this breach caused you harm. For instance, doctors who have received training in the area of malpractice cases usually affirm that they have extensive experience in performing specific procedures and techniques that may be relevant to a particular medical malpractice claim.

Trial

Your lawyer will make a complaint to the court, along with a summons. This begins a legal disclosure process called discovery. You and your doctor's team will work together to collect evidence to support your case. This typically comprises mount zion medical malpractice lawsuit records and testimony of an expert witness.

To prove that you committed a crime it is necessary to prove that the doctor's actions were not in line with the standard of care. Your lawyer must convince the jury that your injuries could have been avoided if your doctor had followed the standards of care. Your doctor's lawyer will present defenses that go against the evidence presented to you by your attorney.

Despite the common belief that doctors are the target of unsubstantiated claims of malpractice, decades of empirical evidence show that jury verdicts reflect reasonable estimates of negligence and damages and that juries tend to be skeptical of large amounts of money awarded. The vast majority malpractice cases are settled prior to trial.