15 Interesting Facts About Medical Malpractice Settlement You ve Never Heard Of

How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

If a patient discovers that an object foreign to her, such as surgical clamps, remains inside her body after gall bladder surgery may file a medical malpractice lawsuit. A successful claim must demonstrate the elements of medical malpractice: duty, deviance from the duty, and direct reason.

Our clients must establish a direct connection between the breach of duty, and medical malpractice lawsuit the injury. This is known as the proximate cause.

Causes of Injury

A claim for medical malpractice can be filed by the person who suffered the injury or an attorney. Depending on the circumstances, this could be the spouse of the patient or an adult child, parent, guardian ad-litem or executor or administrator of the estate of the patient who died. The defendant in a lawsuit for medical malpractice is the health professional. This could be a nurse, doctor, therapist or any other licensed health professional.

Malpractice cases usually require a lot of expert testimony. Medical experts are required to testify as to whether the health care provider acted within the standard of treatment in their particular field of expertise. They must also testify to the harm resulting from the doctor’s actions or inactions.

The consequences of negligence and malpractice can be severe. An incorrect diagnosis can lead to serious consequences, such as the possibility of a life-threatening illness. Other types of injuries can involve operating on the wrong body part or putting surgical instruments in the patient.

The patient must prove four legal elements of a malpractice claim which include a duty to the patient by the physician and a breach of this obligation; an injury resulting by the breach and resulting damages. In certain states, such as New York, the law restricts the amount of money that can be awarded for an injury resulting from a malpractice claim.

Causation

The injury element is also known as the causation. It is one of the most crucial elements in a medical malpractice claim. To establish causation the plaintiff must demonstrate that their injury was caused by the physician's negligence. This can be a difficult task due to a variety of reasons.

Many injuries that are the basis for a medical negligence lawsuit result from long-term conditions or ongoing illnesses that existed before treatment began. Often the statute of limitation for a medical malpractice claim extends out over a number of years and the injuries can develop gradually.

In these situations it is often difficult to prove that a certain medical professional's breach of the standards of care caused the injury. The attorney may have collected evidence, including medical records and expert testimony which the injured patient can utilize.

During the discovery process, which is a component of the legal process for prepping for trial, your lawyer will seek disclosure of expert testimony and other evidence from lawyers of the defendants. The doctor defending the lawsuit is then asked to give evidence during depositions, which are testimony given under oath. Your lawyer can challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide then if the plaintiff has proven the essential elements of their case, including breach of duty, causation, breach of duty and injury.

Negligence

If a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed, the plaintiff will have to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor committed a breach of professional duties and that those breaches caused injury. The plaintiff's attorney must prove this by using evidence gathered during discovery. This involves soliciting documents, including medical records, from all parties involved in a lawsuit. Depositions, in which the statements are made under oath and recorded to be used at trial, are also a part of this process.

A doctor was in breach of his or her professional obligation if he or she did something that a prudent doctor would not do under similar circumstances. It must be proven that the breach resulted in injury directly to the patient. This is known as causation or proximate cause. A patient may go to the hospital in order to have a hernia repaired, but instead end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice law firm malpractice because the removal of the gall bladder was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a legally defined period of time, also known as the statute of limitations, that varies from state to state. The victim must prove that the negligent treatment caused injury, and they must prove what monetary compensation they are entitled to.

Damages

If medical negligence has led you to suffer an injury, you are entitled to be made whole. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive a fair and complete compensation for your losses.

The first step in a lawsuit is to file and serve a complaint along with summons and other papers on all defendants. The parties engage in discovery. It is a process which involves the disclosure of documents and statements presented under oath. During discovery, medical malpractice attorney records and notes from a doctor are usually requested.

In the majority of states, you must establish four elements to be compensated for the injuries caused by medical malpractice such as a duty due to the healthcare provider; a breach of that duty; a causal relationship between the breach and the injury suffered by the patient as well as damages that result from the injury. If your lawyer can prove all of these elements, you can make a an excellent case for financial recovery in a medical malpractice claim.

In some cases the court can award punitive damages, which are intended to penalize the offender and deter others from engaging in the same conduct. This is not the norm however, especially in medical malpractice cases. The courts must be able to prove evidence of malice before they may award these extraordinary damages.