Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice attorney helps injured victims get compensation for their losses. The legal system that regulates medical malpractice cases is built on common law.

According to common law, doctors are required to adhere to a certain level of care when treating patients. If a doctor does not adhere to the accepted medical standard and results in a death or injury the doctor could be held accountable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals must adhere to a set standards that are accepted by the medical profession as reasonable and prudent when providing medical care. If these standards aren't adhered to and the failure results in harm or health issues, a patient may have grounds to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The first element in a malpractice case is to prove that you were a patient of the healthcare provider and that they had a duty to act reasonably. Then, you must show that the breach of this duty occurred. This is typically done with the use of experts who can provide an objective analysis and assessment of the situation.

The expert witness will determine if the defendant's actions are in violation of the accepted standard of care in your particular circumstance. The expert will need to examine your medical records and interview or cross-check you in order to arrive at this conclusion.

You must also show that the breach directly led to your injury. Causation is the third element in a claim for malpractice. In the majority of cases, you will require a direct cause-and- result connection between the breach of duty and the subsequent injury. For instance, a misdiagnosis could lead to the wrong treatment or medication being administered, which in turn causes an adverse reaction, such as a heart attack.

Breach of Duty

Like all doctors medical professionals, doctors are under a legal obligation to act with care and prudence. However doctors are held to an even higher standard because they are medical experts and deal with life and death decisions. The responsibility of medical care is described in the regulations and standards which are applicable to specific types of treatments and procedures.

One of the primary elements that must be established in a negligence case is that the defendant was bound by a duty care to the plaintiff. It must be proven that the defendant violated that duty of care. This means that the doctor did not live up to the standard of care appropriate to the circumstances. The standard of care is typically defined by what an average person would do under similar circumstances. For example, a reasonable driver would not run an intersection with a red light.

In a case of negligence, experts are usually needed to testify regarding the standard of care and the manner in which it was breached. They can also provide the cause of the injury and suggest ways to have prevented it.

Damages

Physicians in the United States are required to carry malpractice insurance to cover the potential losses that could result from medical negligence. In order to bring a claim for damages the plaintiff must demonstrate both actual financial losses (such as medical expenses and lost wages) and non-economic losses (such as suffering and pain).

The amount you receive from a successful suit for malpractice is contingent on how effectively your New York medical malpractice attorney argues for your losses. Your attorney can establish the medically necessary costs by reviewing your medical records, utilizing experts' testimony, and consulting economic experts. For your loss of earnings the medical malpractice lawyer must also show the number of times you were absent from work due to your medical condition and also the fact that these days off work were due to the defendant's negligence.

The non-economic loss can be more difficult to prove and might require the help of a professional who can testify about your physical, emotional, and mental distress as a result of the negligence committed by the defendant. Other types of non-economic damages include loss of consortium, which is the inability to maintain a loving and sexual relationship as you did with your spouse or significant other. The lawyer representing the defendant will challenge your noneconomic damages by way of interrogatories, depositions, and also requests for documents and sworn declarations.

Statute of limitations

In New York, as with every state, there are specific time limitations - referred to as statutes of limitations - within which a medical negligence lawsuit must be filed otherwise it could be dismissed by the courts. An experienced New York medical malpractice lawyer is familiar with these nuances and will ensure that your case is filed by the deadlines established by law.

In most cases, a victim of medical malpractice must present a lawsuit within two and a half years of the date when the act or omission of a doctor or other health professional caused the injury or death. However as with all laws, there are a few exceptions to this rule. If, for Medical Malpractice Attorney example, the error of the health professional was part of a continuous course of treatment, then the "clock" of 30 months will not start until the treatment has been completed or the patient is informed of the diagnosis.

In certain instances the patient may not discover the problem until a long time later for instance in the event that a foreign substance remains in the body following surgery or treatment. To solve this issue, the majority of states have adopted the discovery rule. This permits injured victims in certain circumstances to extend their deadlines. Your lawyer is familiar with the laws of your state and will review your case timeline carefully to avoid administrative errors which could delay your claims.