Medical Malpractice Litigation

Medical malpractice litigation is complex and time-consuming. It is also expensive for both the plaintiff and defendant.

In order to receive financial compensation in a medical malpractice lawsuit, the injured patient must prove that substandard medical care resulted in injury. This requires establishing four components of law which are professional obligations breach of this obligation, injury, and damages.

Discovery

One of the most crucial elements of a medical negligence case is the collection of evidence through written interrogatories and requests for the production of documents. Interrogatories are questions that need to be answered under swearing by the opponent to the lawsuit and are used to establish the facts needed to be used in trial. Requests for documents to be produced allow for tangible items to be retrieved such as medical records or test results.

In many cases, your attorney will record the deposition of a defendant physician in an audio recording of questions and answers. This permits your attorney to ask the doctor or witness questions that would not be permitted at trial. This can be very effective in a case with expert witnesses.

The information gathered during pre-trial discovery is used in court to prove the following components of your claim:

Infraction to the standard of care

Injuries that result from a violation of the standard of care

Proximate causation

A doctor's failure to apply the level of knowledge and skill held by physicians in their field of specialization and that resulted in injury to the patient

Mediation

Medical malpractice trials can be necessary but they also have many drawbacks. The cost, stress and time commitment required by a trial can have a negative impact on plaintiffs. For health professionals who are defendants trials can result in humiliation and a loss of respect. It could also have negative consequences for their careers and practice since the financial payments they receive as part of settlements prior to trial are reported to national practitioner databases and to the state medical licensing body and the medical societies.

Mediation is a cheaper time-efficient, risk-effective, and efficient option to settle an issue involving medical malpractice. The cost of trial and avoiding the possibility of eroding jury verdicts allows both parties to be more flexible in their settlement negotiations.

Before mediation, both parties provide the mediator with a brief of information on the case (a "mediation brief"). At this point, the parties usually communicate via their lawyer, and not directly. Direct communication can be used as evidence in court. As the mediation progresses, it is best to focus on the strengths of your case, and also be prepared to admit its weaknesses as well. This will allow the mediator to make sense of any gaps and provide you with an acceptable proposal.

Trial

Tort reformers are working to establish a system that will compensate those hurt by negligence caused by doctors quickly and with minimal expense. Numerous states have implemented tort reform measures to cut costs and stop the filing of frivolous claims for medical malpractice.

Most physicians in the United States carry malpractice insurance to protect themselves against claims of professional negligence in medical instances. Some of these policies are required as a condition of hospital privileges or Medical malpractice work in a medical group.

In order to obtain financial compensation for injuries incurred due to the negligence of a physician the patient who has suffered injury must prove that the doctor didn't meet the standards of care applicable in his or her area of expertise. This concept is known as proxy causation and is a crucial element in a medical malpractice case.

A lawsuit starts when an order for civil summons is filed with the court of your choice. After this the parties must participate in a disclosure process. This includes written interrogatories, as well as the production of documents, such as medical records. Depositions (in which attorneys challenge deponents under the oath) as well as requests for admission are also involved.

The burden of proof in a medical malpractice case is very high and the damages awarded take into account the actual economic loss, like lost income, the expense of future medical expenses and non-economic losses such as pain and suffering. If you are pursuing a claim for medical malpractice, it's crucial to consult a skilled attorney.

Settlement

Settlements are the most popular way to resolve medical malpractice lawsuits. In general, the actual dollar value of a case is negotiated between the plaintiff and the defendants (often through or alongside the defendant's malpractice/professional liability insurer). The result is a check for the patient, which is then given to the lawyer of the plaintiff who deposit it into an account for escrow. The attorney then deducts case costs and legal fees according to the representation agreement, and gives the injured patient their compensation.

To prevail in a medical malpractice case, the patient who is suffering from it must establish that a physician or other healthcare provider was obligated to them under a duty of care, and then violated that duty by failing perform the required level of knowledge and competence in their field, and that as a proximate result of the breach, the victim sustained injuries, and that these injuries can be quantified in terms of monetary loss.

In the United States, there are 94 federal district courts which are similar to state trial courts. Each of these courts has an ad-hoc jury and judge panel that decides cases. In certain situations cases, medical negligence can be transferred to one of these federal district courts. Physicians in the United States typically carry medical malpractice attorney malpractice insurance to guard themselves from claims of unintentional harm or wrongdoing. Doctors must be aware of the structure and functioning of our legal system so that they can be able to react appropriately to a claim brought against them.