Medical Malpractice Attorneys
Medical professionals must comply with a standard of care when they care for their patients. If a healthcare professional does not meet this standard, and this failure causes injuries or complications to the patient, it could be grounds for a lawsuit for malpractice.
A successful malpractice lawsuit can assist in paying medical costs or reimburse lost wages and acknowledge pain and discomfort. However, medical malpractice lawsuits are often complicated.
Undiagnosed
Misdiagnosis is one of the most frequent medical malpractice claims. This type of case typically involves a healthcare provider mistakenly diagnosing a patient who has an illness or injury. For instance, a physician might diagnose a patient as having pneumonia when in reality the patient has a staph infection. A misdiagnosis could cause serious consequences for the patient, including death.
According to medical malpractice insurance companies medical malpractice insurers, diagnosis-related malpractice claims account for 9 percent (obstetrics) and 61 percent (pediatrics) of their total claims. However, medical malpractice claims data is limited and may be biased toward more severe errors. In addition, claims frequently expire or are dismissed without payment and a lot of meritorious mistakes are not a cause for malpractice lawsuit.
To successfully bring a medical malpractice claim the plaintiff must show that the doctor did not follow the standard of care when diagnosing the condition. The lawyer representing the plaintiff must prove that the doctor’s error directly triggered an injury.
The process of litigation in a medical malpractice case is costly time-consuming, emotionally charged and lengthy. Even though the majority medical malpractice claims are settled outside of court lawyers and expert witnesses are required to invest time and money on negotiations, discovery, and trial preparation. Additionally, doctors are often required to pay for their malpractice insurance premiums as the claims process proceeds. These costs have prompted calls for reforms to tort law which could reduce the cost of litigation and help to encourage faster and more fair settlements.
Errors in Treatment
You expect that when you go to a doctor or a hospital for treatment, the care you receive will be in accordance with the standard of practice in your locality. This includes a clear diagnosis and a sensible treatment plan and a proper follow-up to ensure that your health improves. However, mistakes made by nurses, doctors or other medical personnel could be fatal and lead to permanent injuries or even death.
These errors may take many forms. For example staff members at hospitals may not be able to read a patient’s chart and give the incorrect medication. This kind of error usually occurs in emergency rooms, where the time available is limited and staff members are pressured to provide quick service. It can also happen when a physician treats an issue outside of his or her area of expertise.
Other kinds of errors include prescribing incorrect medications or giving patients a wrong dosage that results in injuries. These mistakes can be committed by nurse practitioners, doctors, physician assistants, pharmacists and optometrists. They can also involve a failure to prescribe or recommend follow-up care that is required to correct the error.
Medication errors can lead to many serious injuries. Taken by heart patients, blood thinners can cause an extremely dangerous bleeding disorder. It may also trigger a stroke. If you’ve suffered an injury or lost a loved one to a medical mistake, it is crucial to consult a knowledgeable New York medical malpractice lawyer to determine if you’re eligible to seek compensation.
Negligence
Negligence can be a result of doctors or medical professionals failing to follow accepted standards. This can happen in a variety of settings, including hospitals, doctors’ offices, therapy clinics, and nursing homes. If a doctor violates these standards and the patient suffers permanent harm it could be necessary to compensate the victim for the harm.
In order to win a malpractice case the person who suffered the injury must prove that the physician’s breach in the discharge of professional duties caused the injuries. Causation is a legal standard that is essential. The breach must be a direct cause for the injury, and the damage must be quantifiable.
In cases involving medical malpractice attorneys representing the plaintiff must also convince jurors that it is more likely than not that the physician’s decision or inaction resulted in the damages demanded. This can be a difficult task since people aren’t always clear in their memories or are affected by the opinions that the opposing side will argue.
It is essential that the lawyer also is aware of how the medical profession works. This knowledge can be used to show that the breach in professional duties led to the patient’s injury. Medical malpractice cases are filed in state or federal courts and often have expert witnesses who provide evidence of how the standard care was violated.
Punitive Damages
We take for granted that we can trust medical professionals to treat us with care and care. Incorrect treatment can result in serious injuries or even death. If those errors result in wrongful death, victims and their families could be entitled to compensation for the losses that they have suffered.
These cases could involve lawsuits against hospitals, doctors nurses, physical therapists pharmacists, diagnostic imaging technicians, and even medical equipment. Because many parties could be accountable it is often recommended for victims to make claims against all of them in conjunction with their New York medical malpractice lawyers to determine which people or businesses should be sued.
Punitive damages are intended to punish the offender and deter them from repeating the same behavior in the future. Punitive damages do not have to be limited to specific damages. They can be applied to a whole category of people and are reserved for serious wrongdoing.
The first category of damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit is a reimbursement for actual financial losses, including expenses for medical treatment and lost wages. Your New York medical malpractice lawyer can assist you in determining the amount of your losses by providing expert testimony regarding what constitutes a breach of standard of care in the specific area of your case as well as in the specialty. This is a crucial step, as without the evidence to prove your case, it could be dismissed during the preliminary hearing.