How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Many medical malpractice lawsuits require significant time and resources from both doctors and lawyers. This can include attorney time, court fees as well as expert witness fees and other expenses.

A traumatic injury caused by medical professional's negligence, mistakes, or error can result in medical malpractice claims. Victims of injury can seek compensation for economic losses, including past or future medical expenses as well as non-monetary damages, like pain and discomfort.

Complaint

A medical malpractice lawsuit is a complex one and requires evidence of credibility to be able to prevail. The patient who has been injured (or their attorney if they've passed away) must prove each of the following legal elements of the claim:

The defendant breached that duty. The defendant did not fulfill that duty. The breach directly caused injury to plaintiff. This element is known as "cause". A breach of a duty of care does not cause injury on its own. It must be shown that it caused the injury directly and was the primary cause for the injury.

To protect the rights of patients, and to ensure that a doctor is not committing further errors, it is required to file a complaint with the state medical malpractice law firm board. However, filing a claim does not start an action, and is often just a step towards moving the malpractice claim. It is advisable to speak with an Syracuse malpractice lawyer prior to making any report or other document.

Summons

As part of the legal procedure, a summons or claim forms is filed with the court and handed to the doctor who is the defendant. A lawyer appointed by the court for the plaintiff will review the documents and, if it appears that there could be an instance of malpractice and they file a complaint and affidavit with the court describing the alleged medical error.

The next step in the legal process is to obtain evidence through pretrial discovery. This involves submitting requests to document such as hospital invoices and clinic notes and taking the defendant physician's deposition in which attorneys ask the defendant on his or her knowledge of the case under the oath.

The lawyer for the plaintiff will utilize this information to prove the elements of a medical malpractice claim during trial. The elements of a medical malpractice case include the existence of an obligation on the part of the doctor to provide treatment and care to patients, the doctor's infraction of this obligation and a causal connection between the breach and injury or death of the patient, and the amount of damages to warrant a monetary award.

Discovery

During the process of discovery, both sides are entitled to request and medical Malpractice attorney receive evidence relevant to the case. This includes medical Malpractice attorney records from before and after an incident of negligence, details about experts and tax returns or other documents relating to out-of-pocket expenses that the plaintiff claims to have caused, and the names and contact information of any witnesses who are expected to testify in the trial.

The majority of states have a statute of limitation that permits injured patients the time period of a certain amount of years after a medical mishap to pursue a lawsuit. These limitations are set by state laws and are subject to a law known as the "discovery rules."

In order to win a medical malpractice lawsuit an injured victim must show that a doctor's negligence caused specific harm that is physical pain or loss of income. They must also prove causation -which means that the negligent treatment was the sole reason for their injuries or death.

Deposition

Depositions are question-and-answer sessions that take place in the presence of the court reporter who takes notes of both the questions and the responses. The deposition is an element of the process of discovery in which parties collect information to be used in the trial.

Depositions permit attorneys to ask witnesses, often doctors for a series of questions. When a physician is questioned, he or she must answer the questions truthfully under oath. Typically, the doctor is first interrogated by an attorney and then interrogated by a different attorney. This is a crucial step in the trial, and the physician must give it their full attention.

A deposition can help attorneys get a complete background on the doctor in terms of his or the training, education and experience. This information is critical to prove that the doctor did not meet the standards of care in your case and that the breach caused injury to you. For instance, doctors who have trained in the area of malpractice cases typically will testify that they have vast experience performing certain procedures and methods that may be relevant to a particular medical-malpractice claim.

Trial

Your lawyer will file a complaint with the court and issue a summons. This starts the process of legal disclosure, also known as discovery. You and your doctor's staff will work together to gather evidence to support your case. This evidence typically includes medical records and testimony from experts.

The goal of proving negligence is to establish that your physician's actions were not in line with the standard of care. Your lawyer must convince the jury that your injuries could be prevented if the doctor had acted in accordance with the standard of care. The lawyer representing your doctor will argue arguments that are contrary to the evidence presented to you by your lawyer.

Despite the myth that doctors are a target for malpractice claims that are not meritorious, decades of empirical research shows that jury verdicts generally reflect fair evaluations of damages and negligence and juries are skeptical of excessive damage awards. The vast majority malpractice cases are settled prior to trial.