10 Medical Malpractice Settlement-Friendly Habits To Be Healthy

How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds that an object that is foreign, such as surgical clamps, remain inside her body following gall bladder surgery could bring a medical malpractice lawsuit. A successful lawsuit must prove the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviance from this obligation, direct cause and injury.

It is crucial for our clients to establish a direct link between the breach of duty and the harm called proximate causation.

Cause of Injury

A medical negligence case may be filed by the injured person or a person who is legally authorized to act on their behalf. This could be the spouse or adult child parent, guardian, or administrator of the estate of a deceased person, depending on the circumstances. The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit is the health care provider. This could be a nurse, doctor, therapist or any other health care professional.

Expert testimony is typically required in malpractice cases. Medical experts must be able to prove whether or the medical professional was in compliance with the standard of care for their particular field. They must also testify to the damage caused by the doctor’s actions or inactions.

Injuries resulting from malpractice and negligence can be very serious. A misdiagnosis could have grave consequences, including the possibility of a life-threatening illness. Other types of injuries can include operating on the wrong body part or leaving surgical instruments inside the patient.

The patient must prove four legal elements of a malpractice lawsuit that include a duty owed to the patient by the physician and a breach of this obligation; a harm caused by the breach and the resulting damages. In some states, like New York, the law sets a limit on the amount of money that can be awarded in the malpractice claim.

Causation

The injury element, also known as causation is one of the most important aspects of a medical malpractice case. To establish causation, the plaintiff must prove that they suffered their injury on the balance of probabilities due to of the negligence of a physician. This can be a difficult task due to a variety of reasons.

A lot of the injuries that form the basis for a medical negligence lawsuit result from long-term illnesses or conditions which were present before treatment started. Often the statute of limitation for a medical malpractice lawsuit extends over a variety 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 difficult. The attorney may have gathered evidence, including expert testimony and medical malpractice law firm records that the injured person may use.

During the discovery process, which is a component of the legal process for preparation for trial, medical Malpractice lawsuits your lawyer will request the disclosure of expert testimony as well as other documents from defense attorneys of the defendants. The doctor defending the lawsuit is then asked to testify during deposition, which is testimony given under the oath. Your lawyer can challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has proved all the elements of the case including breach of duty and causation.

Negligence

The plaintiff must convince the jury when bringing a lawsuit for medical malpractice in court, that it is likely that the doctor did not fulfill his or her duties as physician and that the breaches resulted in injury. The plaintiff's attorney has to demonstrate this using evidence gathered during pretrial discovery. This involves requesting documents, including medical malpractice lawyer records as well as other documents from all parties in the lawsuit. This process also includes sworn declarations that are recorded and used in trial.

A doctor has violated their professional obligation if they did something an ordinary prudent doctor would not have done in similar circumstances. However, it must be proven that the breach directly caused the injury to the patient. This is known as causation or proximate cause. For instance the patient is admitted to the hospital for a hernia surgery and is later told that he or the gall bladder removed instead. This is medical malpractice because the removal of the gall bladder did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally regulated period of time, also known as the statute of limitations, which varies according to the state. The person who has suffered injury must prove that the care provided was substandard and caused injury and then he or she must show how much compensation he or her deserves.

Damages

You should be compensated for any injuries you've suffered as a result of medical negligence. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive full and fair compensation for your losses.

The first step in a lawsuit is to make a complaint and serve it, summons and other documents on all defendants. The parties then engage in discovery. It is a process in which documents and declarations are presented under an oath. Medical records and doctor's notes are typically requested during discovery.

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 and a breach of that duty; a causal connection between the breach and the patient's injury as well as damages that result from the injury. If your attorney can demonstrate all of these elements in a medical negligence claim, you'll have a convincing case.

In certain cases the court can decide to award punitive damages. These are intended to penalize the culprit and deter others from engaging in similar conduct. This is not the norm however, particularly in medical malpractice cases. The courts must have very clear evidence of malice before they are able to make these extraordinary awards.