How to File a Medical Malpractice Case
A patient who discovers an object foreign to her body, such as surgical clamps inside her body after gall bladder surgery can file a lawsuit for medical malpractice. A successful claim must establish the legal aspects of Medical malpractice law firms negligence: duty, deviance from this duty, direct causes, and injury.
It is crucial for our clients to establish a direct relationship between the breach of duty and the damage that is known as proximate causation.
Cause of Injury
A medical malpractice claim may be filed either by the person who suffered the injury or an attorney. This could be a spouse, adult child parent, guardian, or administrator of the estate of a deceased patient, based on the circumstances. The defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit is the health care provider. This could be a nurse, doctor, therapist or any other health care professional.
Expert testimony is typically required in cases of malpractice. Medical experts must testify as to whether the medical professional did what was required of medical care within their particular field of expertise. They also need to testify on injuries caused by doctor’s actions or inactions.
The injuries that result from malpractice and negligence can be quite severe. A mistake in diagnosis can have devastating consequences, like the possibility of a life-threatening illness. Other types of injuries include operating on the wrong part or putting instruments inside the patient during surgery.
The patient must establish four legal elements in a malpractice case the duty owed to the patient by the physician; a breach of this obligation; an injury resulting by the breach; and resulting damages. In certain states, like New York the law limits the amount of money that can be awarded in a malpractice case.
Causation
The injury element, also known as causation, is one of the most important elements in a medical malpractice case. To establish causation the plaintiff must prove that their injury was the result of the doctor’s negligence. This can be a difficult task due to several reasons.
Many of the injuries that are the basis of a medical negligence suit result from long-term or ongoing conditions that existed prior to when treatment began. Often the statute of limitation for a medical malpractice claim extends over a variety of years, and the injuries may develop slowly.
In these cases, it is difficult to prove that one particular medical professional’s failure to adhere to the standards of care caused the injury. However, the patient who is afflicted might be able use evidence collected by the attorney, including medical malpractice law firm documents and expert testimony.
During the discovery process, which is a part of the legal procedure for 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 defending the lawsuit is then called to testify during deposition, which is testimony given under the oath. Your lawyer will be able to challenge the doctor’s findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has proved the elements of the case, including duty, breach 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 physician committed a breach of professional duties and that those breaches caused injury. The lawyer representing the plaintiff must show this through evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which includes requesting disclosure of documents including medical records from all parties who are involved in the lawsuit. This process also involves sworn declarations that are recorded and used at trial.
A doctor has violated their professional obligation when they did something that a reasonable and prudent doctor would not have done under similar circumstances. It must be proven that the breach resulted in injury directly to the patient. This is referred to as causation or proximate cause. A patient could go to the hospital to have a hernia fixed, but end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical negligence since the removal did not benefit the patient.
Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a specific legal timeframe, also known as the statute of limitations. This differs from state to state. The person who suffered the injury must demonstrate that the treatment was substandard and caused injury, and they must show what compensation they deserve.
Damages
If medical negligence caused you to suffer a traumatic injury, you are entitled to be made whole. Scaffidi & Associates can help you get fair and complete compensation for your losses.
The first step in a lawsuit is to file and serve a complaint, summons and other documents on all defendants. The parties then participate in discovery, a procedure in which documents and statements are made public under an oath. Medical records and the notes of the doctor are typically sought during discovery.
In most states, to receive compensation for injuries caused through malpractice, you need to establish four elements: a duty of care due to the healthcare provider, a breach of this obligation; a causal connection between the breach and injury; and damages resultant from the injury. If your lawyer can prove all of these elements, you will have an excellent case for financial compensation in a medical malpractice case.
In certain instances the court could give punitive damages that is designed to penalize a wrongdoer and discourage others from committing similar crimes. However, this is rare in medical malpractice cases as courts require precise proof of malice before they can give these extraordinary awards.