How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers a foreign object such as surgical clamps inside her body following gall bladder surgery is able to bring a lawsuit against a doctor for medical negligence. A successful claim must establish the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviation from this duty, direct cause and injury.

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

The reason for injury

A claim for medical malpractice can be filed either by the person who was injured or an attorney. It could be the spouse, adult child guardian, parent or administrator of the estate of a deceased person depending on the specific circumstances. The defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit is the health care provider. It could be an accredited doctor, nurse or therapist.

Malpractice cases typically involve many expert witnesses. Medical experts must testify as to whether or whether the healthcare provider followed the standard of care for their specific area. They also have to testify to the harm caused by the doctor’s actions or inactions.

The consequences of negligence and medical malpractice lawsuit mistakes can be catastrophic. A mistake in diagnosis can have devastating consequences, including a life-threatening condition. Other kinds of injuries be caused by operating on an incorrect body part or putting surgical instruments in the patient.

In order to prove a malpractice claim the patient must prove four legal elements: a duty the doctor owed them; a breach in this duty; a resultant injury and damages. In some states such as New York the law limits the amount of money that can be awarded for a malpractice claim.

Causation

The injury element, also referred to as causation is one of the most crucial elements in a medical malpractice case. To establish causation, the plaintiff must show that they sustained their injury on the basis of probabilities because of the physician's negligence. This can be a challenging job due to various reasons.

Many injuries that are the basis for a medical negligence lawsuit stem from long-term conditions or ongoing conditions that existed prior to when treatment started. The time limit for medical malpractice cases can be extended over several years and the development of injuries can happen slowly.

In these cases it can be difficult to prove that a particular medical professional's violation of the standard of care caused the injury. However, the patient who was hurt could be able to use evidence collected by the attorney, like medical documents and expert testimony.

During the discovery process, which is a component of the legal procedure getting ready for trial, your lawyer could request the disclosure of expert testimony and other evidence from lawyers representing the defendants. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit is then called to testify during depositions, which are testimony given under the oath. Your lawyer may cross-examine the doctor and contest the doctor's findings. The jury will then decide whether the plaintiff has proven the necessary elements of their case such as breach of duty, causation, breach of duty and injury.

Negligence

If a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the physician violated professional duties and that those breaches resulted in injuries. The plaintiff's lawyer must demonstrate this with evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which includes asking for disclosure of documents such as medical records from all parties who are involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, wherein statements are made under oath and recorded to be used at trial, are also a part of this process.

A doctor has violated his or her professional duty if he or she did something that a reasonable prudent physician would not do under the same circumstances. It must be proven that the breach resulted in injury directly to the patient. This is known as causation or proximate causes. For instance, a patient goes to the hospital for a hernia procedure and is later told that he or his gall bladder removed instead. This is medical negligence since the procedure was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally defined period of time, called the statute of limitations, which is different for each state. The person who has suffered injury must prove that the negligence caused injury, and then he or she must demonstrate the amount of compensation he or she is entitled to.

Damages

If medical negligence has led you to suffer injury, you deserve to be made whole. At Scaffidi & Associates, we can assist you to receive the full and fair compensation you deserve for your losses.

The first step is to file and serve a complaint and summons on all defendants named in the lawsuit. The parties then engage in discovery, a procedure in which documents and declarations are made public under an oath. Medical records and the notes of the doctor are usually requested during discovery.

In most states, you need to prove four things in order to be compensated for any injuries caused by medical malpractice that is a duty owed by the healthcare provider and a breach of that duty; a causal connection between the breach and the patient's injury and damages resulting from the injury. If your attorney can prove all of these elements in a medical malpractice claim, you will have an enviable case.

In some instances, courts can give punitive damages, which are designed to punish the perpetrator and discourage others from engaging in similar conduct. It is not common, however, in medical malpractice cases. The courts must have a clear evidence of malice before they are able to award these extraordinary damages.