Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice lawyer helps injured patients receive compensation for their losses. The legal system that governs medical malpractice cases is based on common law.

In common law, doctors are required to adhere to a specific standard of care when treating patients. If a physician violates accepted medical procedures and results in injury or death, then he may be held responsible for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals must adhere to set of standards which are recognized by the medical profession as reasonable and prudent in their healthcare. If these standards aren't met and that failure causes injury or health complications, a patient may be able to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The first step in a malpractice claim involves establishing that you had a doctor-patient relationship with the healthcare provider and that the entity or person was bound to act in a reasonable manner. The next step is to prove that the breach occurred. This is usually done through the use of expert testimony that can provide an objective analysis and assessment of the case.

This expert witness will be able determine if the defendant's actions were below the accepted standard of care in your particular case. To allow the expert to arrive at this conclusion, they will need to be able to review your medical records and conduct an examination or interview with you.

You must also be able to prove that the breach of duty directly led you to experience injury. Causation is the third factor in a malpractice claim. In most cases, you will require an immediate cause-and-effect connection between the breach of duty and the resulting injury. For example, a misdiagnosis could lead to the wrong treatment or medication being prescribed and could result in an adverse reaction such as a heart attack.

Breach of Duty

Physicians, like all other people, have a legal obligation to behave with reasonable care and be cautious. However doctors are held to an even more stringent standard because they are medical experts and have to make life and death decisions. The duty of care is found in the regulations and laws for specific types of treatments and procedures.

One of the first elements that must be established in a negligence claim is that the defendant owed a duty to care to the plaintiff. Then, it needs to be established that the defendant breached 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 usually determined by what a reasonable person would do in the situation. For instance, a prudent driver wouldn't run an intersection with a red light.

In a lawsuit involving a malpractice experts could be required to testify about the standard of care that was not met and how this standard was breached. They can also explain the cause of the injury and what could be done to stop it from happening.

Damages

In the United States, physicians are required to carry malpractice insurance to cover any losses that might arise from medical negligence. To file a lawsuit, the plaintiff will need to show both financial losses (such medical expenses and lost wages) and non-economic losses (such suffering and pain).

The amount of compensation you receive from a successful suit for malpractice is contingent on how effectively your New York medical malpractice attorney will argue for your losses. Your lawyer can establish the medically necessary expenses through a review of your medical records, evidence from experts, and the use of economic experts. Your medical malpractice lawyer must prove that you lost your earnings by proving the amount of days you were absent from work due your medical issues, and the fact that these days were due to the negligence of the defendant.

Non-economic damages can be more difficult to prove and could require the help of a professional who can testify about your physical, emotional and mental distress as a result of infractions committed by the defendant. Loss of consortium is another type of non-economic injury. This is the inability to maintain a romantic, sexual connection with your spouse, or any other significant person like you used to. The defendant's attorney will challenge your non-economic losses through a process of interrogatories and depositions as well as demands for documents and declarations under swearing.

Statute of Limitations

In New York, as with every state, there are certain time limitations - referred to as statutes of limitations - within which a medical negligence lawsuit must be filed or otherwise it will be dismissed by the courts. A New York medical malpractice attorney who is skilled will be well-versed in the specifics of these deadlines. They will also ensure that your claim is filed prior to the deadlines specified by law.

In most cases, the victim of medical negligence has to bring a suit within two and a half years from the date the act or omission made by a health care provider resulted in the death or medical malpractice lawsuit injury. However as with all laws, there are a few exceptions to this rule. For instance, if the error by the health professional was part of a continuous course of treatment, the 30 month legal "clock" will not begin until the treatment is complete or the patient is informed of the diagnosis.

In some instances such as when an object that is foreign remains inside the body after surgery or treatment, it may not be possible for a patient or patient's family to determine that there was a problem until much later. To solve this issue, the majority of states have embraced what is known as the discovery rule. This allows injured victims in certain circumstances to extend their timeframes. Your lawyer is well-versed in the laws of your state and will review the timeline of your case carefully to avoid any administrative errors that could cause delays to your claim.