Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Attorneys are bound by a fiduciary obligation to their clients and they must behave with skill, diligence and malpractice lawsuit care. However, like all professionals, attorneys make mistakes.

Not all mistakes made by an attorney are malpractice. To prove negligence in a legal sense the aggrieved party must prove the breach of duty, obligation, causation, as well as damages. Let's examine each of these elements.

Duty-Free

Doctors and medical professionals take an oath to apply their knowledge and expertise to treat patients and not to cause further harm. The duty of care is the basis for patients' right to compensation when they suffer injuries due to medical malpractice. Your attorney will determine if your doctor's actions violated the duty to care and if the breach resulted in your injury or illness.

Your lawyer has to prove that the medical professional in question owed you the duty of a fiduciary to perform with reasonable competence and malpractice lawsuit care. The proof of this relationship may require evidence such as your doctor-patient records or eyewitness evidence, or expert testimony from doctors who have similar qualifications, experience and education.

Your lawyer must also prove that the medical professional violated their duty of care by not living up to the accepted standards of care in their area of expertise. This is usually known as negligence. Your attorney will compare what the defendant did to what a reasonable person would do in a similar situation.

In addition, your lawyer must prove that the defendant's breach of duty directly led to damage or loss to you. This is called causation. Your lawyer will make use of evidence, such as your doctor/patient reports, witness testimony and expert testimony, to demonstrate that the defendant's inability to meet the standard of care was the main cause of injury or loss to you.

Breach

A doctor is bound by a duty of care to his patients which is in line with professional medical standards. If a doctor fails to meet those standards, and the result is an injury or medical malpractice, then negligence can occur. Expert testimonials from medical professionals who have similar training, certifications or experience can help determine the level of care in any given situation. State and federal laws and institute policies also help determine what doctors are required to do for specific types of patients.

To prevail in a malpractice lawsuit, it must be proven that the doctor breached his or her duty to care and that this violation was the sole cause of an injury. This is known in legal terms as the causation component and it is essential that it be established. For instance when a broken arm requires an xray, the doctor must properly fix the arm and place it in a cast for proper healing. If the physician failed to do this and the patient suffered permanent loss of function of that arm, then malpractice may have occurred.

Causation

Attorney malpractice claims are based on the evidence that proves that the lawyer's mistakes caused financial losses to the client. Legal malpractice claims may be brought by the injured party for example, if the attorney does not file the lawsuit within the timeframes set by the statute of limitations and the case being forever lost.

It is crucial to be aware that not all errors made by attorneys are illegal. Strategies and planning mistakes are not always considered to be misconduct. Attorneys have a broad range of discretion to make decisions, as long as they're in the right place.

The law also gives attorneys the right to conduct a discovery process on behalf of a client, so in the event that it is not negligent or unreasonable. The failure to discover crucial documents or facts, such as medical reports or witness statements could be a sign of legal malpractice. Other instances of malpractice could be a inability to include certain defendants or claims such as failing to include a survival count in a case of wrongful death or the consistent and long-running inability to contact the client.

It's also important to keep in mind that it must be proven that, if not the negligence of the lawyer the plaintiff would have won the underlying case. Otherwise, the plaintiff's claim for malpractice will be denied. This is why it's difficult to file a legal malpractice claim. It is important to employ an experienced attorney.

Damages

A plaintiff must show that the attorney's actions resulted in actual financial losses in order to prevail in a legal malpractice lawsuit. In a lawsuit, this has to be proved with evidence, such as expert testimony and correspondence between the attorney and client. A plaintiff must also demonstrate that a reasonable attorney could have prevented the harm caused by the negligence of the lawyer. This is called proximate causation.

Malpractice can occur in many different ways. Some of the more common kinds of malpractice are failing to adhere to a deadline, which includes a statute of limitation, failure to conduct a conflict check or other due diligence on a case, improperly applying law to a client's situation or breaching a fiduciary obligation (i.e. mixing trust funds with an attorney's personal accounts) and mishandling the case, or not communicating with a client.

Medical malpractice lawsuits typically include claims for compensatory damages. These damages compensate the victim for expenses out of pocket and expenses like medical and hospitals bills, costs of equipment to aid in recovery and lost wages. Victims can also claim non-economic damages, such as discomfort and pain or loss of enjoyment in their lives, as well as emotional stress.

Legal malpractice law firms cases often include claims for compensatory and punitive damages. The former compensates a victim for the losses caused by the attorney's negligence, while the latter is designed to discourage future misconduct by the defendant.