What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical malpractice claim is filed by a patient who complains about the carelessness of a healthcare professional. The patient (or the estate of the patient if the patient died) must prove that the negligence caused injury or harm.

fort payne medical malpractice law firm malpractice lawsuits are typically filed in state trial courts. To prevail in a lawsuit, the aggrieved party must demonstrate four legal elements:

Duty of care

To establish a legal claim, a plaintiff needs to prove that he or she was owed a duty of duty by a person or an organization and that they failed to fulfill the obligation. In medical malpractice cases this is the obligation of a doctor to provide the highest standard of care for their patients. This is usually determined through expert testimony.

Expert witnesses can help determine the appropriate medical standards and then demonstrate how a doctor violated those standards in their treatment of the patient. A plaintiff's attorney who is suing for Newark Medical Malpractice Lawyer malpractice needs to show that the deviance caused the victim's injuries.

Expert testimony is essential as jurors are typically unfamiliar with anatomy and have watched a lot medical dramas. In the case of medical malpractice it is crucial since it can be difficult to establish the standard of care. In a medical malpractice case the standard refers to the level of expertise and care quality, as well as degree of diligence other physicians in similar specialties in similar circumstances.

Experts in medical malpractice cases are typically surgeons or doctors who have the same training and certification. Due to the "conspiracy of silence" among many doctors (a term lawyers use to describe the tendency of doctors not to be able to testify against each other) it can be challenging to find an expert who is qualified to be a witness against a colleague for poor care.

Breach of duty

When a doctor makes an error that harms the patient, it is medical malpractice. Those mistakes can cause new injuries or make existing ones worse. Medical malpractice cases are a complex set of legal issues and regulations, making them difficult to prove. However, a good medical malpractice lawyer will analyze the facts of your case and determine if a doctor has violated his or her obligation to the patient.

Your attorney will determine if there was a doctor-patient connection between you and your physician, which is a requirement in any malpractice claim. Your attorney will scrutinize your doctor's actions and decisions to determine the level of care in your state for doctors who have similar training, backgrounds, and geographic location is satisfied.

Physicians have a duty to respect the standards set forth by their patients without omission or deviation. A breach of duty means that the doctor did not meet your expectations and resulted in injury.

It is easy to prove the breach of duty with the help of expert witnesses and your attorney's investigation. Experts can prove that the doctor's actions did not meet the standard of medical care and provide reasons why a different medical professional would have acted differently in similar circumstances. Your lawyer must also connect the breach of duty to your injuries and damages. Your lawyer will review your medical records as well as test results, prescriptions and imaging scans to create an argument that the breach of duty of your physician directly led to your injuries.

Causation

The majority of treatments carry a degree of risk, but medical errors can add to those risks. To prove causality in a malpractice case an injured patient must establish a direct connection between the alleged negligence and their injuries. In the majority of cases, expert testimony is required as well as assistance from an attorney for medical malpractice.

For instance, a mistake in diagnosing an illness or illness is a common medical error. The failure of a doctor to recognize cancer or other conditions may have serious implications for a patient. In this case the patient could experience excessive pain or even end up dying. By failing to diagnose the problem correctly the doctor could have committed a malpractice.

Finding out if your doctor or hospital was negligent in the treatment you received is a lengthy and difficult process. The evidence needed could include a variety of sources, such as medical reports and test results as along with expert witness testimony and oral depositions. Your attorney can assist in obtaining and understanding the evidence as well being your advocate during the process of depositions.

It is important to keep in mind that only a healthcare professional is liable for malpractice. Unlike receptionists at medical centers, doctors and nurses are expected to behave in accordance with prevailing standards of care. That means that medical professionals must be able to foresee consequences based on their skills and knowledge.

Damages

In medical malpractice claims the courts consider monetary damages that are designed to compensate the victim. These damages may include past and future medical bills, lost wages, disfigurement and pain, and loss of enjoyment of life. Punitive damages may be awarded in certain circumstances. These are awarded only to egregious acts that society wants to deter.

A medical malpractice case begins with the filing in court of a civil summons. The parties follow up with discovery. This is a procedure which requires the plaintiff and defendants to give statements under oath. This may include the request of medical records, for instance as well as deposing parties who are involved in a lawsuit and interviewing witnesses.

In a medical malpractice claim it is vital to prove that the doctor was legally bound to provide medical treatment and care to the patient. The other element to establish is that the doctor acted in breach of that duty by failing to follow the medical standard of care. The third factor is that the breach caused harm to the patient.

It is crucial to remember that the statute of limitations (the legally-defined time frame within which a medical malpractice claim must be filed) differs from state to state. In New York, there is a statute of limitations of two years and six month (30 months) after the date of the medical malpractice.