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How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Many medical malpractice lawsuits require a lot of time and resources from both doctors and attorneys. This includes doctor hours and work product, attorney time, court costs and expert witness fees and countless other expenses.

An injury resulting from the negligence of a healthcare professional's misconduct, error or omission can give rise to medical malpractice claims. Plaintiffs seeking compensation for their injuries can seek damages, which include economic loss such as past and future medical bills, and noneconomic damages like pain and suffering.

Complaint

A Bridgeport Medical Malpractice Law Firm (Vimeo.Com) malpractice lawsuit is a complex one and requires credible proof to be successful. The patient who has been injured (or their attorney if they've passed away) must demonstrate each of the following legal aspects of the claim:

The defendant breached the duty. The defendant violated that duty. The breach directly caused injury to the plaintiff. This aspect of the malpractice claim is referred to as "causation." A breach of the standard of care doesn't cause injury, but it must be proved that the breach directly caused the injury and was the proximate reason for the injury.

To protect a patient's rights, and to ensure that a doctor does not commit further wrongdoing, it's necessary to file a report with the state medical board. However, filing a claim is not the start of an action, and Bridgeport Medical Malpractice Law Firm is often just a step towards getting the malpractice claim moving. It is advisable to speak with a Syracuse malpractice attorney before filing any report or document.

Summons

A summons or claim is filed in the court and is sent to the defendant doctor as part of the legal process. A lawyer appointed by the court for the plaintiff will then review these documents and, if they believe that there may be an issue with malpractice, they will submit a complaint and an affidavit with the court describing the alleged medical error.

The next step is obtaining evidence through pretrial disclosure. This involves submitting requests for evidence such as hospital invoices as well as notes from clinics and taking the defendant physician's deposition where lawyers question the defendant on his or his knowledge of the case under oath.

This information will be used by the attorney representing the plaintiff to prove the elements of an action for medical malpractice in the course of trial. These include the existence of an obligation on the doctor's part to provide care and treatment to patients; the doctor's breach of this duty; a causal link between the breach and the patient's death or injury and a sufficient amount of damages that result from the death or injury to warrant a monetary award for compensation.

Discovery

During the discovery process, both sides are allowed to request and receive evidence that is relevant to the case. This includes medical records prior to and after an incident of negligence, information about experts, copies of tax return or other documentation related to expenses out of pocket the plaintiff claims have been attributable to them, and the names and contact details of witnesses who are expected to testify at trial.

Most states have a statute-of-limitations that limits the time a patient has to pursue a lawsuit after being injured due to medical error. These time limits are typically determined by the law of the state and are subject to a rule known as the "discovery rule."

To win a medical malpractice case the injured person must prove that the doctor's negligence caused harm to a specific person like physical pain or loss of income. They must also prove causation, i.e. that the negligent treatment caused their death or injury.

Deposition

Depositions are question-and-answer sessions conducted in the presence of an official court reporter who records both the questions and responses. Depositions are a part of the process of discovery in which parties collect information to be used in the trial.

Attorneys may ask a series of questions to witnesses, typically doctors. When a doctor is questioned, they must answer all questions truthfully under the oath. Typically, the doctor is first interrogated by an attorney and later cross examined by another attorney. This is an important stage in the trial and the physician must focus on it with complete attention.

Depositions allow lawyers to obtain a detailed background on the doctor's background in terms of his or his education, training, and experience. This information is crucial for showing that the doctor violated the standard of care you expect and that this breach caused injury. Physicians who have been trained in this area are likely to affirm that they have years of experience with specific procedures and techniques that may be relevant to an individual medical-malpractice case.

Trial

Your lawyer will make a complaint to the court and will issue a summons. This initiates the legal disclosure process known as discovery. Your doctor and your staff will work together to collect evidence to support your case. This typically includes fountain inn medical malpractice attorney records and testimony from an expert witness.

The goal of proving negligence is to establish that your doctor's actions fell short of the standard of care. Your lawyer must convince jurors that it is more likely than not that your injuries would not have occurred had your doctor followed the standards of care. The lawyer for your doctor will present defenses that go against the evidence presented by your lawyer.

Despite the belief that doctors are the target of frivolous claims of malpractice the decades of evidence show that juries make reasonable estimates of negligence and damages and that juries tend to be skeptical of excessive award amounts. The majority of malpractice cases are settled before trial.