How To Find The Perfect Medical Malpractice Settlement On The Internet

How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers an object that is foreign, for example, surgical clamps inside her body after gall bladder surgery could bring a lawsuit against a doctor for medical malpractice. A successful claim must establish the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviation from this duty, direct cause, and injury.

It is crucial for our clients to establish a direct causal connection between the breach of duty and the damage that is known as proximate causation.

Cause of Injury

A medical malpractice claim can be initiated by the patient who was injured or a person legally designated to act on their behalf. Depending on the circumstances this could be a spouse of the patient or an adult child, parent, guardian ad litem or the executor or administrator of the estate of the patient who died. The defendant in a lawsuit for medical malpractice is the health care provider. This could be a doctor, nurse, therapist or any other licensed health professional.

Malpractice cases usually require the testimony of experts. Medical experts must testify as to whether or the medical professional adhered to the standards of care for their specific area. They must also testify regarding the harm caused by the physician's actions or inactions.

Injury caused by negligence and malpractice can be severe. For example, a mistake in the diagnosis of a health problem could result in life-threatening consequences. Other kinds of injuries include operating on the wrong body part or putting instruments inside the patient during surgery.

The patient must prove four legal elements in a malpractice case the duty owed to the patient by the physician and a breach of this duty; an injury caused by the breach; and the resulting damages. In certain states, such as New York the law limits the amount of money that can be awarded in a malpractice case.

Causation

The injury element is known as the causation. It is one of the most important aspects in a medical malpractice claim. To establish causation, the plaintiff must show that they suffered their injury on the basis of probabilities due to of the negligence of the doctor. This can be a challenging task for a number of reasons.

For instance, many injuries that are the basis of a medical malpractice lawsuit stem from long-term, or ongoing illnesses that were present before treatment began. Often the statute of limitations for a medical negligence claim extends out over a number of years, and the injuries can develop gradually.

In these cases, it is difficult to prove that a certain medical professional's violation of the standard of care caused the injury. The attorney could have gathered evidence, such as medical records and expert testimony which the injured patient can use.

During the discovery process, which is an integral part of the legal process for preparation for trial, your lawyer will seek disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from lawyers of the defendants. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit will then be called to testify during depositions, which are the testimony under an oath. Your lawyer will be able to cross-examine doctor and challenge their findings. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has established that the allegations of the case are true, including duty, breach and causation.

Negligence

If a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed the plaintiff has to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the physician breached his or her professional duties and those breaches resulted in injuries. The plaintiff's lawyer must prove this using evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which entails requesting disclosure of documents including medical records from all parties who are involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, where statements are made under oath and recorded for use in trial, are also part of this process.

A doctor was in breach of his or her professional duty when he or she did something that a prudent doctor would not do in similar circumstances. It must be established that the breach caused the injury directly to the patient. This is referred to as causation or proximate cause. A patient might go to the hospital to have a hernia repaired, but end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice lawyer malpractice because the removal of the gall bladder was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a specific legal time limit, known as the statute of limitations. This varies from state to state. The injured patient must establish that the negligence resulted in injury, and then prove how much monetary compensation he or she deserves.

Damages

If medical negligence caused you to suffer injury, you deserve to be compensated. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive a fair and complete compensation for your losses.

The first step is to file and serve an order and complaint on all defendants named in the lawsuit. The parties then proceed to discovery, a process in which documents and statements are disclosed under oath. During discovery, medical records and doctor's notes will typically be sought.

In most states, you need to prove four things in order to be compensated for the injuries caused by medical malpractice which includes a duty to the healthcare provider and a breach of that obligation; a causal connection between the breach and the patient's injury and damages resulting from the injury. If your lawyer can demonstrate all of these elements in a medical negligence claim, you will have an enviable case.

In certain instances the court could make punitive damages a possibility that is designed to penalize a wrongdoer and discourage others from committing similar conduct. It is not common however, particularly in medical malpractice Law firms malpractice cases. The courts must be able to prove evidence of malice before they are able to give these extraordinary damages.