Medical Malpractice Law
Medical malpractice cases can result in injuries that result from a medical professional’s negligence. There are a variety of laws that govern these cases, including statutes of limitation and damages.
The term “malpractice” refers to situations where an individual is not treated with the same level of care that other doctors would in similar circumstances. It can be caused by misdiagnosis or surgical errors.
Complaint
Medical malpractice is a special subset of tort law that deals with professional negligence. It is defined as an act or omission of the doctor that goes against the accepted norms in the medical profession that causes injury to a patient [2223.
If you’ve been injured due to hospital negligence, your claim starts by filing a complaint in civil court. In this form, you write down the basic facts of your case. You should also name the hospital you worked in and any doctors who were involved with your case. Based on the circumstances, you may want to agree upfront that health professionals will not be identified as individuals in the lawsuit (this is called “no-name agreements”).
You should then list your injuries and the amount related to each one. These include past and future medical expenses, loss of income due to not being able to work, pain and suffering and any other losses that you’ve suffered as a result the doctor’s wrongful actions. It is recommended to submit these documents as quickly as you can your lawyers in order for them to begin an in-depth investigation.
Summons
If you suspect that you have been injured due to medical malpractice, you lawyer will draft a summons and complaint. They are then filed in the court. The clerk of the court then assigns a unique identifying code to the case. This is referred to as the index number. It will be used to track the case through its way through the courts.
The plaintiff’s lawyer will spend much time and money to win a lawsuit. The funds needed are to pay for legal discovery and to hire physician expert witnesses. Even when the medical malpractice claim is unsuccessful the case will cost the attorney a huge amount of time and product.
A lawsuit must demonstrate that the health care professional violated a legal duty and that the breach caused injury to the claimant and that the injury is serious enough to warrant legal recourse. In the United States, a patient must be able to prove four elements or requirements to be able to bring a legitimate medical malpractice claim. These include the existence of a duty, a breach of duty; causation; and damages. Medical malpractice claims are governed under the law of the state. However, in certain limited circumstances the case may be transferred to federal district courts.
Discovery
After a civil summons have been filed with the proper court, the formal discovery process starts. Your medical malpractice lawyer will be spending a great deal of time collecting evidence to support the case. This could include reviewing medical records using the services of a medical review company.
This is an important step in the legal process, because it will help your attorney discover vital details to support your claim. It is also the most time-consuming aspect of a medical liability lawsuit.
During the discovery phase of the pretrial of your case, your lawyer will be asking the defendants for specific documents and answers. The defendants will then be given the opportunity to respond to these requests. The questions are put under the oath, and must be answered honestly. Defendants can also utilize these questions to establish defenses in your case. This is why it’s essential to employ an experienced medical malpractice lawyer. They will ensure that all evidence is presented in an simple language for juries and judges.
Request for Admission
Before a lawsuit involving medical malpractice is filed, many states require that the patient present the case before a panel of medical experts who will hear arguments and examine evidence and expert testimony in order to determine if the patient’s claim is valid enough to go forward. The statute of limitations is an act that requires medical malpractice lawsuits to be filed in court within a specific time frame.
To allow the legal team of a patient’s lawyer to be able to present a medical negligence claim, it has to be proven that the healthcare professional did not adhere to the accepted standards of care in their particular area of expertise. This is sometimes called the standard of care yardstick and it’s crucial that the injured patient’s legal team be able to identify specific instances of deviance from this standard of care.
Trial
To prove that a doctor committed malpractice, the patient must demonstrate that: (1) the doctor owed her a professional duty of care; (2) the physician violated this duty by not adhering to the standard of care; (3) this breach caused injury; and (4) the injuries resulted in damages. This last aspect requires expert medical opinion testimony to help the jury understand the applicable medical standards. It can be challenging for the injured victim, and her legal team to bridge the gap between their common knowledge and experience, and the highly-specialized and expert expertise needed to determine if there is a malpractice.
Malpractice cases are typically filed in state trial courts, which have jurisdiction for the case, however, under limited circumstances, they can be filed in federal district court. Both trial courts are subject to the same laws as other civil litigants. Depositions of the defendant physicians are usually scheduled during which the attorneys from both sides have the opportunity to ask questions. Following a direct examination, the opposing attorney can cross-examine a witness physician. The process continues until the questions of both sides are answered.