How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

In order to bring a medical malpractice suit against a hospital or doctor you must establish that the defendant has violated their obligation to patients. This evidence can include hospital and medical records.

Our lawyers are adept at taking depositions that are effective for witnesses. They could be doctors or other medical professionals who are in private practice or staff at a clinic or hospital.

Negligence

If a patient is seen by a doctor or hospital professional is entitled to certain standards of medical treatment. Unfortunately, in some cases these standards are not met or are even breached. The consequences of this breach can be devastating.

When someone suffers injury or death as a result of a doctor's negligence, they could bring a lawsuit against the medical professional. To have a legitimate claim, malpractice the injured patient must prove that there are four legal elements in place which include breach of duty, causation and damages.

Malpractice is defined as an act by doctors that goes against the accepted norms of the medical profession and results in injury to patients. It is an aspect of tort law that deals with civil wrongs that do not fall under contractual duties or criminal offenses.

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

In a medical malpractice lawsuit the defendant is bound by an obligation to treat the patient according to the standards of care that a reasonably competent healthcare professional with comparable experience and training in similar circumstances would provide. The breach of this obligation is a crucial aspect since it shows that the alleged negligence caused the injury.

Damages

In a case of malpractice, damages are calculated based upon your losses as a result a doctor's negligence. This could include financial losses, including future medical costs, as well as non-economic damages, such as pain and discomfort.

To recover damages, you have to prove that the doctor breached the duty of care, that the physician's deviation from the norm caused injury, and the injury caused quantifiable financial consequences. This is a complicated legal analysis, which usually requires expert witness testimony.

Some of the losses can be observed quickly, for example, if a doctor's mistake resulted in an infection or other medical issues which required additional treatment. Some damages are more difficult to detect, such as when an expert misdiagnoses your illness and you are unable to receive the proper treatment.

If your doctor's malpractice lawsuits results in your death, you can sue for wrongful death. In these claims you are legally entitled to all the compensation you would have gotten in a lawsuit for survival, plus punitive damages.

In many states, there are limits to the amount you can recover in a malpractice case. The caps differ by state and typically apply to both economic and non-economic damages. Some states have laws that limit how long you have to wait before filing an action.

Time Limits

Like all lawsuits, there are time limits which must be adhered to or the case could be thrown out. A malpractice lawsuit should generally be filed between two and six years after the incident occurred. The specific time limit is determined by the state.

It is important to talk with an attorney as soon as you can. The law firm will conduct an investigation to determine if any malpractice occurred and whether it will hold up in the court. This process can take up to a few weeks or even months.

Medical malpractice cases are governed by different laws, and the statute of limitation is frequently altered. For example in Pennsylvania patients must submit a claim within two years of the date they realized the malpractice or when a reasonable person should have realized the injury existed. This is known as the discovery rule.

In other states the statute of limitations starts at the time the malpractice occurred. This is an issue if the medical error doesn't cause immediate symptoms. Consider, for instance, that a doctor mistakenly left a foreign object in the body of the patient following surgery. The patient may not be aware of the object until three years after the surgery. In that scenario, the statute of limitations could have begun to expire from the date the procedure instead of the time of discovery of the error.

Expert Witnesses

A lot of medical malpractice cases rely on expert witnesses to clarify the facts of the case. An expert witness for a plaintiff will be able to testify about the doctor's duty of providing medical care to the patient and the medical standards for the region and specialty for that type of physician who has similar qualifications and abilities and the ways the defendant violated those standards. The expert will explain the way in which the defendant's actions directly impacted the patient's injuries.

The defendant will engage a professional to counter the plaintiff's expert and then provide their professional opinion on whether the doctor met the requirements of medical care. The experts may disagree but the fact-finder will decide which expert is most credible.

It is best for an expert to working in the medical field because they will have more knowledge of the current practice. Judges and jurors typically consider practicing professionals more believable than experts whose sole source of income is testimony in court.

It is also beneficial to work with an expert who has specialized in the field of malpractice (click the up coming article). A medical expert with prior experience treating breast cancer for example, can make an argument that is convincing regarding the reason for an injury. A seasoned Ocala medical malpractice attorney will be aware of the experts to call for your case.