How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers an object foreign to the body such as surgical clamps in her body following gall bladder surgery is able to make a claim for medical negligence. A successful lawsuit must establish the elements of medical malpractice: duty, deviance from the duty, and direct reason.

Our clients must establish a direct link between the breach of duty, and the injury. This is known as the proximate cause.

Causes of Injury

A claim for medical malpractice can be filed by the injured person or a legal representative. Depending on the circumstances this may be the spouse of the patient or an adult child parent, guardian ad litem, or the administrator or executor of the estate of the deceased patient. The plaintiff in a suit for medical negligence is the health professional. It could be an accredited doctor, nurse or therapist.

The majority of cases involving malpractice involve a lot of expert testimony. medical malpractice lawyer experts are required to testify whether or not the health care provider adhered to the standards of care in their specific field. They also need to testify on the injury caused by the doctor's actions or inactions.

The injuries that result from malpractice and negligence can be very serious. For instance, a misdiagnosis of a health issue could have life-threatening effects. Other types of injuries could include operating on the wrong part or putting instruments inside the patient during surgery.

The patient must establish four legal elements of a malpractice lawsuit which include a duty to the patient by the physician and a breach of this obligation; an injury resulting by the breach and the consequential damages. In certain states like New York the law limits the amount of money that can be awarded in a case of malpractice.

Causation

The injury element is also known as the causation. It is one of the most important elements in a medical negligence claim. To establish causation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that their injury was caused by the physician's negligence. This is a difficult task for a number of reasons.

A lot of the injuries that form the basis of a medical negligence lawsuit result from long-term or ongoing conditions that existed prior to when treatment began. Often the statute of limitation for a medical malpractice lawsuit is extended over a period of years and the injuries may develop slowly.

In these situations it can be difficult to prove that a specific medical professional's breach of standard of care led to the injury. However, the patient who was hurt may be able to use evidence collected by the attorney, such as medical records and expert testimony.

During the discovery process, which is an integral part of the legal procedure prepping for trial, your lawyer can request disclosure of expert testimony as well as other documents from lawyers of the defendants. The doctor who is representing the case will be required to appear in deposition. This is a declaration which is under the oath. Your lawyer can challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide if the plaintiff has proven the facts of the case including breach of duty, breach of contract and causation.

Negligence

If a claim for medical malpractice is filed the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor committed a breach of professional duties and those breaches resulted in injury. The attorney representing the plaintiff must be able to prove this by utilizing evidence obtained during discovery. This includes the request of documents, including medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, wherein statements are made under oath and recorded for trial, mindfarm.co.kr are also a part of this process.

A doctor has breached their professional obligation when they did something that a reasonable and prudent doctor would not have done in similar circumstances. It must be established that the breach caused the injury directly to the patient. This is known as causation or proximate cause. For example an individual goes to the hospital for a procedure to treat a hernia and ends up having his or the gall bladder removed instead. This is medical malpractice since the removal of the gall bladder was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice suits must be filed within a legal timeframe, also known as the statute of limitations. This differs from state to state. The person who has suffered injury must prove that the negligence caused injury and then he or she must prove how much monetary compensation he or her deserves.

Damages

If medical negligence has caused you to sustain an injury, you are entitled to be compensated. At Scaffidi & Associates, we can assist you in obtaining an adequate and fair amount of compensation for your loss.

The first step in a lawsuit is to file and serve a complaint or summons, as well as other documents on all defendants. The parties then engage in discovery. This is which involves the disclosure of documents and statements made public under oath. Medical records and notes of the doctor are usually requested during discovery.

In most states, you need to demonstrate four elements in order to be compensated for any injuries caused by medical malpractice: a duty owed by the healthcare provider in breach of that obligation; a causal connection between the breach and the injury suffered by the patient as well as damages that result from the injury. If your lawyer can prove all these elements in a medical malpractice claim, you'll have a convincing case.

In some cases courts may make punitive damages available, which are designed to punish the culprit and deter others from committing the same offense. But, this isn't often the case in medical malpractice cases as courts require precise proof of malice before they can award these extraordinary awards.