How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers an object that is foreign, for example, surgical clamps inside her body following gall bladder surgery may file a lawsuit for medical negligence. A successful lawsuit must establish the elements of medical malpractice: duty, deviance from this duty and direct reason.

Our clients must establish a direct link between the breach of duty and the injury. This is known as the proximate reason.

Causes of Injury

A medical malpractice claim can be filed by the person who has been injured or a legal person to represent them. This could be a spouse or adult child guardian, parent or administrator of a deceased patient's estate depending on the specific circumstances. The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit is the health professional. This could be a doctor, nurse or therapist, or any other health professional.

Malpractice cases usually require a lot of expert testimony. Medical experts must be able to prove whether or not the health care provider adhered to the standards of care for their particular field. They must also testify as to the harm resulting from the doctor’s actions or inactions.

Injuries caused by negligence and mistakes can be catastrophic. A mistake in diagnosis can have devastating consequences, like the possibility of a life-threatening illness. Other types of injuries could include performing surgery on the wrong body part or putting instruments inside the patient during surgery.

The patient must prove four legal elements in a malpractice case that include a duty owed to the patient by the doctor and a breach of this duty; an injury caused by the breach and resulting damages. In certain states, such as New York the law limits the amount of money awarded in a malpractice case.

Causation

The injury element, also known as causation, is one the most crucial elements in a medical malpractice case. To prove causation the plaintiff must demonstrate that they suffered an injury on the balance of probabilities due to due to the negligence of the doctor. This can be a challenging task due to a variety of reasons.

For example, many injuries that are the basis of a medical malpractice lawsuit stem from long-term, or ongoing illnesses that were in the process of being treated prior to. The statute of limitations on medical malpractice cases can be extended over several years and injuries may develop slowly.

In these cases the proof that a medical professional's violation of the standard of care and led to the injury is a challenge. The attorney could have gathered evidence, such as expert testimony and medical records which the injured patient can use.

During the discovery procedure that is part of the legal procedure for the preparation of a trial your lawyer can request the lawyers representing the defendants disclose expert testimony and other documents. The doctor who is defending the case will be asked to take deposition. This is a testimony which is under oath. Your lawyer can challenge doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide then if the plaintiff has established the necessary elements of their claim, which includes duty, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

When a farmington medical malpractice lawsuit malpractice claim is filed the plaintiff has to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor did not perform his or her professional duties and those violations caused injury. The attorney representing the plaintiff must be able to prove this by utilizing evidence gathered during discovery. This involves soliciting documents, including medical records, from all parties involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, where statements are made under oath and recorded to be used at trial, are also a part of this procedure.

A doctor violated the professional duties of a doctor when he/she did something that a reasonably prudent physician would not do in similar circumstances. It must be proven that the breach resulted in injury directly to the patient. This is known as causation or proximate cause. A patient may go to the hospital to repair a hernia, however, they end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice as the removal of the gall bladder did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within the legal time limit, known as the statute of limitations. This is different from state to state. The person who suffered the injury must prove that the negligent treatment resulted in injury, and after that they must establish what compensation they're entitled to.

Damages

If golden medical malpractice Attorney negligence has led you to suffer a traumatic injury, you deserve to be made whole. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive a fair and complete compensation for your losses.

The first step is to file and serve the complaint and summons to all defendants named in the lawsuit. The parties then proceed to discovery, in which documents and statements are made public under the oath. During discovery, sylvania medical malpractice attorney records and doctor's notes are usually requested.

In the majority of states, you need to establish four elements to be compensated for any injuries caused by medical malpractice which includes a duty to the healthcare provider; a breach of that duty; a causal connection between the breach and the injury suffered by the patient; and damages that flow from the injury. If your lawyer can prove all of these aspects of a medical negligence claim, you will have an enviable case.

In certain instances the court might award punitive damage which is intended to punish a wrongdoer, and deter others from engaging in similar crimes. However, this is rare in medical malpractice cases as courts require precise proof of malice before they can award these extraordinary awards.