Is Medical Malpractice Settlement As Important As Everyone Says

How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers an object that is foreign, such as surgical clamps, remains inside her body after gall bladder surgery can file a medical malpractice lawsuit. A successful lawsuit must prove the legal aspects of medical negligence: duty, deviation from this duty, direct causes, and injury.

It is essential for medical malpractice lawsuit our clients to establish a direct link between the breach of duty and the resulting injury, known as proximate causation.

Causes of Injury

A medical malpractice claim can be filed by the person who was injured or an attorney. It could be the spouse or adult child parent, guardian, or administrator of an estate belonging to a deceased patient, depending on the circumstances. The defendant in a suit for medical negligence is the health care provider. It could be an accredited nurse, doctor or therapist.

Expert testimony is often required in cases of malpractice. Medical experts are required to testify whether or not the health care provider followed the standard of care in their specific field. They also have to testify to the damage caused by the actions or inactions of the doctor.

The consequences of negligence and malpractice can be severe. For instance, a wrong diagnosis of a health issue could have life-threatening effects. Other types of injuries could include operating on the wrong part or leaving instruments inside the patient during surgery.

In order to prove a malpractice claim the patient has to prove four legal elements: a duty the physician owed to them; a breach of the breach; a resulting injury and damages. In certain states, like New York the law limits the amount of money awarded in a case of malpractice.

Causation

The injury element, also referred to as causation, is one of the most important elements in a medical malpractice case. To prove causation the plaintiff must prove that they suffered their injury on a balance of probabilities as a result due to the negligence of the doctor. This is a challenging task due to a variety of reasons.

Many of the injuries that are the basis for medical malpractice attorneys negligence lawsuits result from long-term conditions or ongoing issues that existed before treatment began. The statute of limitations on a medical malpractice lawsuit can be extended over a period of time and injuries may develop slowly.

In these instances it is necessary to prove that a medical professional's violation of the standard of care led to the injury is not easy. 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 a part of the legal process for getting ready for trial, your lawyer may request the disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from the defendants' attorneys. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit will then be required to testify in a deposition, which is testimony under the oath. Your lawyer is able to cross-examine doctor and contest their findings. The jury will decide then if the plaintiff has proven the necessary elements of their case, including duty, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

The plaintiff must convince the jury, in a case of medical malpractice to show that it is more than likely that the doctor did not fulfill his or her duties as a physician and that those breaches resulted in injury. The plaintiff's attorney has to prove this by using evidence collected during discovery. This includes the request of documents, including medical records, from all parties involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, medical malpractice lawsuit wherein statements are made under oath, and recorded for use in trial, are also a part of this procedure.

A doctor has violated the professional duties of a doctor when he or she did something that a reasonably prudent doctor would not do under the same circumstances. It must be established that the breach caused the injury directly to the patient. This is referred to as causation or proxy causes. For instance when a patient is taken to the hospital for a procedure to treat a hernia and ends up having his or her gall bladder removed instead. This is medical negligence since the procedure was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a certain period, referred to as the statute of limitations. This differs from state to state. The patient who was injured must demonstrate that the treatment was substandard and resulted in injury, and after that they must establish what compensation they are entitled to.

Damages

You deserve to be compensated for any injuries you have suffered due to medical negligence. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive a fair and complete compensation for your losses.

The first step in a lawsuit is to make a complaint and serve it along with summons and other papers on all defendants. The parties then proceed to discovery, a process by which documents and declarations are made public under oath. Medical records and the notes of a doctor are typically requested during discovery.

In the majority of states, you have to establish four elements to be compensated for injuries caused by medical malpractice such as a duty due to the healthcare provider and a breach of the duty; a causal relationship between the breach and the injury suffered by the patient and damages resulting from the injury. If your attorney can demonstrate all of these aspects of a medical negligence claim, you will have an enviable case.

In certain instances, courts can make punitive damages available, which are designed to punish the offender and deter others from committing the same offense. But, this isn't often the case in medical malpractice cases, as the courts require extremely evident proof of malice in order to award these awe-inspiring awards.