How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers an object foreign to her body, such as surgical clamps inside her body following gall bladder surgery is able to make a claim for medical negligence. A successful claim must demonstrate the elements of medical malpractice law firms negligence: duty, deviation from this duty and direct reason.

It is vital for our clients to establish a direct connection between the breach of duty and the harm, known as proximate causation.

Causes of Injury

A medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed by the person who has been injured or a person legally designated to represent them. This can be the spouse, adult child, parent, guardian or administrator of an estate belonging to a deceased patient, depending on the circumstances. In a case involving medical malpractice, the defendant is the health care provider. This could be a nurse, doctor or therapist, or any other health care professional.

Malpractice cases usually involve the testimony of experts. Medical experts are required to testify as to whether the healthcare provider acted within the standard of care in their specific field of expertise. They must also testify about the harm caused by the doctor's actions or actions or.

The injuries that result from malpractice and negligence can be quite severe. For example, a misdiagnosis of a health condition can result in life-threatening consequences. Other types of injuries include operating on the wrong part or putting instruments inside the patient during surgery.

To establish a malpractice claim the patient must demonstrate four legal elements: a duty the doctor owed to them; a breach in this duty, resulting injury; and damages. In certain states, like New York, the law sets a limit on the amount of money that could be awarded for a malpractice claim.

Causation

The injury element, also referred to as causation, is one of the most important elements in medical malpractice cases. To establish causation, the plaintiff must prove that the injury was caused by the doctor's negligence. This can be a challenging task due to a variety of reasons.

Many of the injuries that form the basis of medical negligence lawsuits result from long-term conditions or ongoing issues that existed before treatment started. Often the statute of limitation for a medical negligence claim extends over a number of years and the injuries may develop slowly.

In these cases, it is difficult to prove that a specific medical professional's breach of the standard of care caused the injury. However, the patient who was hurt might be able use the evidence collected by the attorney, including medical records and expert testimony.

During the discovery process, which is part of the legal procedure prepping for trial, your lawyer can seek disclosure of expert testimony and other evidence from defendants' attorneys. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit will be called to testify during deposition, which is testimony given under oath. Your lawyer is able to cross-examine doctor and contest their findings. The jury will decide if the plaintiff has proven 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 more than likely that the doctor acted in violation of his or her duties as a physician and that those mistakes led to injuries. The lawyer representing the plaintiff must demonstrate this by presenting evidence through pre-trial discovery, which involves asking for disclosure of documents such as medical records from all parties who are involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, where statements are made under oath, and recorded for trial, are also part of this process.

A doctor violated his or her professional duty when he or she did something that a reasonably prudent physician would not do under the same circumstances. However it must be proven that the breach directly caused injury to the patient. This is referred to as causation or causal proximate causes. Patients may visit a hospital to repair a hernia, but instead end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice since the removal of the gall bladder was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice suits must be filed within a legal time frame, also known as the statute of limitations. This is different from state to state. The injured patient has to prove that the negligent treatment resulted in injury, and after that they must show what compensation they are entitled to.

Damages

If medical negligence has caused you to suffer an injury, you have the right to be made whole. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive full and fair compensation for your losses.

The first step is filing and serving a complaint and summons on all defendants named in the lawsuit. The parties then proceed to discovery, a procedure in which documents and statements are made public under oath. Medical records and notes of a doctor are typically requested during discovery.

In the majority of states, to receive compensation for injuries caused by malpractice, you need to prove four things such as a duty of care due to the healthcare provider and a breach of that obligation; a causal connection between the breach and injury; and damages that result from the injury. If your lawyer can prove all of these elements in a medical negligence claim, you'll have an enviable case.

In certain cases the court might decide to award punitive damages which is intended to punish the perpetrator and deter others from engaging in similar acts. However, this is not the norm in medical malpractice cases as courts require clear evidence of malice to give these extraordinary awards.