How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers an object that is foreign, for example, surgical clamps within her body after gall bladder surgery may file a lawsuit for medical negligence. A successful claim must demonstrate the elements of medical malpractice: duty, deviance from the duty, and direct cause.

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

Cause of Injury

A medical malpractice claim can be filed by the injured person or a legal representative. It could be the spouse, adult child parent, guardian, vimeo.Com or administrator of an estate belonging to a deceased patient, based on the circumstances. In a medical negligence case the defendant is the health care provider. This could be a nurse, doctor pathfinder2.ca or therapist, or any other licensed health care professional.

Malpractice cases usually require many expert witnesses. Medical experts are required to be able to testify that the healthcare provider did what was required of care in their particular field of expertise. They also need to testify on the harm caused by the doctor's actions or actions or.

Injuries resulting from malpractice and negligence can be very serious. A misdiagnosis can have serious consequences, including the possibility of a life-threatening illness. Other kinds of injuries include operating on the wrong body part or putting surgical instruments in the patient.

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

Causation

The injury element, also referred to as causation is one of the most important elements in a medical malpractice case. To prove causation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that they sustained the injury based on a balance of probabilities because due to the negligence of the doctor. This can be a challenging task due to several reasons.

A lot of the injuries that form the basis for medical negligence lawsuits result from chronic illnesses that existed before treatment began. The statute of limitations on a medical malpractice case could be extended over the course of several years, and injuries can develop slowly.

In these situations, it is difficult to prove that a particular medical professional's breach of the standard of care led to the injury. However, the patient who is afflicted might be able use evidence gathered by the attorney, like medical documents and expert testimony.

During the discovery process, which is a part of the legal procedure preparing for trial, your lawyer may seek disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from defense attorneys of the defendants. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit will be asked to testify during depositions, which are testimony under the oath. Your lawyer will be able to challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has substantiated the elements of the case including breach of duty, breach of contract and causation.

Negligence

The plaintiff must convince the jury, when bringing a claim for medical malpractice to show that it is more likely that the doctor violated his or her duties as medical professional and that these violations caused injury. The plaintiff's attorney must demonstrate this through evidence collected during discovery. This involves seeking documents, such as medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. This process also involves sworn statements that are recorded and used in trial.

A doctor has breached their professional obligation in the event that they did something a reasonable and prudent doctor would not have done under similar circumstances. However it must be proven that the breach directly caused the injury to the patient. This is known as causation or wikiodia.org proximate cause. Patients may visit a hospital to have a hernia fixed, but instead end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical negligence because the removal did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally defined period of time, referred to as the statute of limitations which varies by state. The injured patient must establish that the care provided was substandard and caused injury, and then he or she must demonstrate the amount of compensation he or her deserves.

Damages

You deserve to be compensated for any injuries you've suffered due to medical negligence. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive full and fair compensation 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 begin discovery, a process in which documents and statements are revealed under the oath. Medical records and the doctor's notes are typically requested during discovery.

In the majority of states, you must demonstrate four elements in order to be compensated for the injuries caused by medical malpractice which includes a duty to the healthcare provider and a breach of that duty; a causal link between the breach and the injury suffered by the patient and damages resulting from the injury. If your attorney can establish all of these elements, you will have an extremely strong case for financial compensation in a claim for medical malpractice.

In some cases the court can make punitive damages available, which are intended to penalize the culprit and deter others from engaging in the same conduct. However, this is rare in medical malpractice cases, because the courts require specific proof of malice to award these extraordinary awards.