Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice lawyer assists injured victims get compensation for their losses. The legal system that regulates medical malpractice cases is built on common law.

In the common law, doctors must follow a standard of care in treating their patients. If a doctor deviates from the accepted medical norms and results in a death or injury or even death, he could be held responsible for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals must adhere to set of standards that are recognized by the medical profession as being sensible and prudent in providing treatment. A patient could be in a position to file a lawsuit for medical malpractice if those standards aren't followed and the breach causes injuries or health issues.

The first element in a malpractice lawsuit is to prove that you were a patient of the healthcare provider and that they owed you a duty to act in a reasonable way. The next step is to prove the breach of the obligation occurred. This is typically done using expert testimony that can provide a objective analysis and evaluation.

The expert witness can determine if the defendant's actions were less than the accepted standard in your situation. The expert will need to examine your medical records and also interview or question you in order to make this determination.

You must be able to establish that the breach directly caused your injury. This is known as causation and it is the third requirement of a negligence claim. In the majority of cases, you will require a direct cause & result connection between the breach of duties and the subsequent injury. For instance, a mistake in diagnosis could result in the wrong treatment or medication being administered, which in turn causes an adverse reaction like heart attacks.

Breach of Duty

Like everyone else who are legally obligated to act, doctors also have an obligation to act with diligence and care. However, doctors are held to an even higher standard since they are considered experts in medicine and deal with life and death decisions. The duty of care is found in the laws and standards that govern specific types of treatments and procedures.

In a negligence case it is crucial to prove that the defendant owed a duty to care for the plaintiff. Then, it needs to be established that the defendant violated that duty of care. This means that the doctor failed to meet the standard of care in the particular situation. The standard of care is typically determined by what an ordinary person would do under similar situations. A reasonable driver, for instance will not go through an intersection at a stoplight.

In a malpractice case experts are often required to testify about the standards of care and the manner in which it was breached. They can also describe how the injury occurred and what could be done to stop it from happening.

Damages

In the United States, physicians are required to carry malpractice insurance in order to cover any potential losses that might arise from medical negligence. In order to file a claim, the plaintiff must demonstrate both financial losses (such medical expenses and lost wages), as well as non-economic losses (such suffering and pain).

The amount you receive from a successful malpractice suit depends on how well your New York medical malpractice attorney fights for your losses. Your attorney will be able to establish the medically necessary expenses by examining your medical records, the testimony of experts as well as the assistance of economic experts. In order to prove your loss of earnings Your medical malpractice lawyer must also demonstrate the number of days you were absent from work due to medical condition and also the fact that these missed work days were due to the defendant's negligence.

Non-economic damages can be more difficult to prove and might require the assistance of a professional who can testify about your physical, emotional and mental distress due to the infractions committed by the defendant. Loss of consortium is a different type of non-economic injury. This is the inability to have an intimate relationship with your spouse, or any other significant individual as you used to. The lawyer representing the defendant will challenge your noneconomic damages by way of interrogatories, depositions, and also requests for documents or sworn statements.

Statute of Limitations

As in every state, New York has a statute of limitations that must be fulfilled before a medical malpractice lawsuit (Repubblica blog post) can be filed. Otherwise the court will not dismiss the case. An experienced New York medical malpractice lawyer is knowledgeable about these particulars and will make sure that your claim is filed by the deadlines set by law.

In most instances, the victim of medical malpractice has to make a claim within two and a half years from the date that the negligence or act of a health care provider caused the injury or death. As with all laws, this rule has its exceptions. If, for instance, the error medical malpractice lawsuit committed by the health care provider was part of a ongoing treatment plan, then the "clock" of 30 months will not begin until the treatment has been completed or the patient is informed of the diagnosis.

In some instances, a patient may not realize the problem until a considerable time later for instance when a foreign object remains in the body following surgery or treatment. In order to address this issue, the majority of states have implemented the discovery rule. This permits injured victims in certain situations to extend their deadlines. Your lawyer will be well-versed in the laws of your state and medical malpractice lawsuit will scrutinize your case's timeline carefully to avoid any administrative errors which could delay your claims.