How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

In order to bring a medical malpractice suit against a doctor or a hospital, you must have evidence that the defendant has breached their duty to patients. This can be evidence from hospitals and medical records.

Our lawyers have experience deposing witnesses in a professional manner. These may be doctors or other medical professionals in private practice, or employees at a hospital or clinic.

Negligence

If a patient is seen by a doctor or hospital professional, they are entitled to certain standards of medical care. In some instances, these standards are not adhered to or even breached. The consequences of this breach can be devastating.

A lawsuit may be filed against a medical professional when a patient is injured or dies as a result of the negligence of the physician. In order to file a legitimate claim, the injured patient must demonstrate that four legal elements are present which include breach of duty, causation, and damages.

Malpractice is defined as an act or omission committed by a physician that deviates from the accepted norms of medical practice within the medical profession, and inflicts harm on the patient. It is an aspect of tort law, which deals with civil wrongs that are not contractual duties or criminal offenses.

Medical negligence differs from regular negligence because the victim must prove that the physician was aware that their actions would cause harm in order to be able to claim malpractice, however normal negligence does not. A surgeon who accidentally cuts or nicks the nerve or vein during surgery is guilty of negligence but not negligence. This is because the surgeon did not intend to hurt anyone.

In a medical malpractice case, the defendant's duty is to provide the patient with the standard of care that a reasonably qualified health professional with similar experience and education would provide in similar circumstances. The breach of duty is crucial because it shows that the alleged negligent conduct caused the injury.

Damages

In a malpractice case, damages are calculated based on the amount you've suffered as a result a doctor's negligence. They can be a combination of financial loss, like the cost of future medical care and non-economic losses, like suffering and pain.

To be able to claim damages, it is necessary to establish that a doctor acted in violation of the law, that his deviation from the standard of care resulted in injury, and that the injury had quantifiable financial consequences. This is a complicated legal analysis that typically requires expert witness testimony.

Some of these losses are obvious, such as if your doctor made an error that resulted in an infection or other medical complications that required additional treatment because of it. Certain damages are more difficult to detect for instance, when an expert misdiagnoses your illness and you are unable to receive the correct treatment.

If a doctor's error results in your death, you can sue for the cause of death. In these cases you're entitled to everything you could have gotten in a survival case, plus punitive damages.

In most states, there are limitations on what you can claim in a lawsuit for malpractice law firm. The caps differ from state to state and are usually applicable to both financial and other damages. Some states have laws that limit the time you have to wait before filing an action.

Time Limits

As with any lawsuit there are time limits which must be observed or the case may be barred. A malpractice lawsuit is required to be filed between two and six years after the act occurred. The specific time limit varies by state.

It is important to talk with an attorney as soon as possible. The law firm will conduct an investigation to determine if there were any mistakes and if the case can stand up in court. This phase can last for up to a few weeks or chino hills malpractice law firm even months.

Medical malpractice cases involve different laws than other types of cases, and chino hills malpractice law firm often the statute of limitations is altered. For example in Pennsylvania the patient must file a claim within 2 years of the date they discovered the malpractice or when a reasonable person could have realized that the injury existed. This is known as the discovery rule.

In other states the statute of limitations begins to run from the date the Chino Hills malpractice law Firm occurred. This can be problematic if the medical malpractice does not cause any immediate symptoms. For instance, suppose the doctor is negligently leaving a foreign object inside the body following surgery. The patient might not find the object until three years after the procedure. In that case the statute of limitation could have start running from the date of the procedure, not the time of discovery of the error.

Expert Witnesses

A lot of medical malpractice cases rely on expert witnesses to explain the details of the case. The expert of the plaintiff will testify about doctors' obligations to the patient, the medical standards for doctors who have similar qualifications in the field and specialty and the ways in which the defendant's conduct was different from those standards. The expert will also explain how the deviance directly led to the injury of the patient.

The defendant will engage a professional to counter the plaintiff’s expert, and then provide their professional opinion on whether the doctor's treatment was consistent with guidelines of care. It is common for the experts to disagree with one with respect to their opinions, but the factfinder determines who is the most trustworthy based on their knowledge and experience.

It is recommended for the expert to be working in the medical field because they are more knowledgeable about current practices. Jurors and judges typically consider professionals who are practicing more credible than experts whose sole source of income is a testimony in court.

It is also beneficial to have an expert witness who has expertise in the field of fraud. A medical expert who has expertise in treating breast cancer, for example, can make an argument that is convincing as to the reason for an injury. A medical malpractice attorney in Ocala knows which experts to talk to.