The Reasons Medical Malpractice Settlement Is Everywhere This Year

How to File a medical malpractice law firm Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers a foreign object such as surgical clamps within her body following gall bladder surgery can make a claim for medical malpractice. A successful claim has to prove the elements of medical malpractice: duty, deviation from the duty, and direct cause.

Our clients must establish a direct link between the breach of duty and the injury. This is known as proximate cause.

Cause of Injury

A medical malpractice claim can be filed either by the injured person or a legal representative. Based on the specific circumstances, this could be the spouse of the patient or an adult child, parent, guardian ad Litem or the administrator or executor of the estate of the deceased patient. The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit is the health professional. This could be a doctor, nurse or therapist, or any other licensed health professional.

The majority of cases involving malpractice involve many expert witnesses. Medical experts must be able to prove whether or whether the health professional adhered to the standards of treatment in their specific field. They also have to testify to the harm resulting from the doctor’s actions or inactions.

The consequences of malpractice and negligence can be very severe. For example, a mistake in the diagnosis of a health problem could cause life-threatening complications. Other kinds of injuries include performing surgery on the wrong body part or leaving instruments inside the patient during surgery.

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

Causation

The injury element, also known as causation, is one the most important aspects of medical malpractice cases. To prove causation, the plaintiff must prove that their injury was caused by the physician's negligence. This can be a difficult task due to a variety reasons.

Many of the injuries that form the basis of a medical negligence suit result from long-term or ongoing illnesses that existed before treatment started. Often the statute of limitations for a medical malpractice claim extends over a number of years and the injuries can develop gradually.

In these instances it is necessary to prove that a medical professional's failure to adhere to the standard of care and led to the injury is not easy. The attorney may have collected evidence, like expert testimony and medical records that the injured person could use.

During the discovery process, which is an integral part of the legal procedure preparation for trial, your lawyer may request the disclosure of expert testimony and other evidence from lawyers of the defendants. The doctor who is defending the case will be asked to testify in a deposition. This is a testimony which is under an oath. Your lawyer is able to cross-examine doctor and contest their conclusions. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has established that the allegations of the case are true which include breach of duty, breach and causation.

Negligence

If a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed in court, lawyers the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the physician committed a breach of professional duties and those breaches caused injuries. The lawyer for the plaintiff must prove this using evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which includes requesting disclosure of documents including medical records from all parties who are involved in the lawsuit. This process also involves sworn declarations that are recorded and used at trial.

A doctor has breached their professional obligation when they did something that reasonable and prudent doctors would not have done in similar circumstances. However it must be proven that the breach directly caused injury to the patient. This is referred to as causation or the proximate cause. For instance when a patient is taken to the hospital for a hernia surgery and is later told that he or his gall bladder removed instead. This is medical negligence since the procedure did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally defined time frame, known as the statute of limitations, which is different for each state. The injured patient has to prove that the negligent treatment 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 get 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. During discovery, medical malpractice lawyer records and notes from a doctor are typically requested.

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

In some cases, a court may decide to award punitive damages. These are intended to penalize the culprit and deter others from engaging in the same conduct. It is not common however, particularly in medical malpractice cases. The courts must have a clear evidence of intent to commit a crime before they are able to decide to award these extraordinary damages.