Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice lawyer aids injured patients receive compensation for their losses. The common law system regulates medical malpractice lawsuits.

According to common law, doctors are required to adhere to a certain standard of care when treating patients. If a doctor violates accepted medical practices and results in injury or death then he could be held liable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals must follow a set of standards that are accepted by the medical profession as being reasonable and prudent when providing healthcare. If the standards aren't followed and if they cause injury or health complications patients may be able to file a medical malpractice law firms malpractice lawsuit.

The first part of a malpractice claim involves establishing that you had a doctor-patient relationship with the healthcare provider and that the person or entity had a legal obligation to act with reasonable care. Then, you have to prove the breach of the obligation occurred. This is typically done with the use of experts who can provide an objective analysis and assessment of the situation.

This expert witness will be able to help determine whether or not the defendant's actions are in violation of the standard of care that is accepted in your particular case. The expert will need to look over your medical records and also interview or question you to arrive at this conclusion.

You also need to prove that the breach of duty directly led you to experience injuries. This is known as causation, and it is the third component of a malpractice claim. In most instances, you'll need to have an obvious cause-and effect relationship between the breach of duty and subsequent injury. A misdiagnosis for instance can result in the wrong medication being prescribed or treatment being administered. This in turn can cause a negative reaction such as a heart attack.

Breach of Duty

Like everyone else who are legally obligated to act, doctors also have an obligation to act with diligence and care. Doctors are held to a higher standard but because they are medical experts and have the authority to make life-or-death decisions. The duty of care is outlined in the laws and standards that govern specific types of treatment and procedures.

One of the most important elements to be established in a negligence lawsuit is that the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff. Then, it has to be proven that the defendant breached that duty of care. This means that the doctor failed to meet the standard of care in the given situation. The standard of care is typically determined by what an ordinary person would do in the same circumstances. A reasonable driver, for instance, would not run a traffic light.

In a lawsuit involving a malpractice experts could be required to provide evidence on the standard of care that was violated and the manner in which this standard was breached. They can also explain the cause of the injury and explain how they could have prevented it.

Damages

Physicians in the United States are required to have malpractice insurance to protect the risk of losses resulting from medical negligence. In order to submit a claim for damages, the plaintiff must prove both actual financial losses (such as medical expenses and lost wages) as well as non-economic losses (such as pain and suffering).

The amount you are awarded from a successful malpractice case depends on how your New York medical malpractice lawyer defends your losses. Your attorney can establish the medically essential costs by examining your medical records, using expert testimony and consulting economic experts. Your medical malpractice lawyer must prove the loss of your earnings by proving the amount of days that you missed from work due to medical complications, and that these missed days were a result of the negligence of the defendant.

Non-economic damages are more difficult to prove. You may require the assistance of an expert witness who can detail your physical, mental, and emotional pain as direct result of the defendant's negligence. Loss in consortium is another type of non-economic injury. It is the inability to enjoy a loving, sexual relationship with your spouse, or any other significant individual as you used to. The attorney representing the defendant will challenge your non-economic damages through interrogatories, depositions and requests for Medical Malpractice documents and statements under the oath.

Statute of limitations

In New York, as with every state, there's a set of deadlines - commonly referred to as statutes of limitations - within which a medical negligence lawsuit must be filed, or otherwise it will be rejected by the courts. A seasoned New York medical malpractice lawyer is familiar with these nuances and will ensure that your case is filed before the deadlines established by law.

In the majority of cases, a victim of medical negligence must bring a suit within two and a half years from the date the act or omission made by medical professionals caused death or injury. As with all laws this rule has its exceptions. For instance in the event that the health care provider's error was part of an ongoing course of treatment, medical malpractice the 30-month mandatory "clock" will not start until the course of treatment is completed or the patient learns of the diagnosis.

In some cases, a patient may not discover the problem until a considerable time later for instance the case where a foreign body remains within the body after surgery or treatment. For this reason, most states have adopted the legal concept known as the discovery rule which permits injured victims to extend these deadlines in certain situations. Your attorney will be aware specific laws in your state and will look over your case's timeline in order to ensure that there are no administrative mistakes that could delay your claim.