How to File a Medical Malpractice Case
A patient who discovers that an object that is foreign like surgical clamps, is still inside her body after gall bladder surgery could file a medical malpractice lawsuit. A successful lawsuit must prove the legal aspects of medical negligence: duty, deviance from this duty, direct cause and injury.
It is crucial for our clients to establish a direct connection between the breach of duty and the injury which is referred to as proximate cause.
Cause of Injury
A medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed by the injured person or a person who is legally authorized to represent them. Depending on the circumstances, this could be the spouse of the patient or an adult child, parent, a guardian ad litem or the administrator or executor of the estate of the patient who died. In a case of medical malpractice the defendant is the health care provider. This could be a nurse, doctor, therapist or any other licensed health care professional.
Expert testimony is typically required in malpractice cases. Medical experts must be able to testify that the health care provider acted within the standard of care in his or her particular field of expertise. They also need to testify on the injury caused by the doctor’s actions or inactions.
Injuries caused by negligence and mistakes can be catastrophic. For instance, a misdiagnosis of a medical condition could result in life-threatening consequences. Other kinds of injuries include operating on the wrong body part or leaving surgical instruments inside the patient.
To prove a malpractice claim, the patient must prove four legal elements: a duty that the physician owed to them; a breach of this duty, 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 is known as the causation. It is one of most crucial elements in a medical negligence claim. To prove causation, a plaintiff must demonstrate that they suffered their injury on the balance of probabilities as a result due to the negligence of the doctor. This is a challenging task for several reasons.
A lot of the injuries that form the basis for a medical negligence lawsuit result from long-term or ongoing issues that existed before treatment began. Often the statute of limitation for a medical malpractice claim extends over a variety of years, and injuries may develop slowly.
In these cases it can be difficult to prove that a particular medical professional’s failure to adhere to the standards of care caused the injury. However, the aggrieved patient might be able use evidence gathered by the attorney, such as medical records and expert testimony.
During the discovery process, which is a part of the legal procedure for prepping for trial, your lawyer can seek disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from the defendants’ attorneys. The doctor who is representing the case will be asked to appear in a deposition. This is a statement that’s given under the oath. Your lawyer can challenge doctor’s findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has proved the elements of the case including breach of duty and causation.
Negligence
If a claim for medical malpractice is filed the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the physician committed a breach of professional duties and that those breaches caused harm. The plaintiff’s lawyer has to prove this using evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which involves requesting disclosure of documents including medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. This process also includes the recording of sworn statements and used in trial.
A doctor has violated his or her professional obligation if he or she did something that a reasonably prudent physician would not do in similar circumstances. However it must be proved that the breach directly caused injury to the patient. This is referred to as causation or proximate cause. A patient might visit a hospital to repair a hernia and instead, have their gall bladder removed. This is effingham Medical malpractice attorney negligence because the procedure did not benefit the patient.
Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a legally prescribed time frame, known as the statute of limitations that varies from state to state. The person who suffered the injury must show that the inadequate 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 that you’ve 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, summons and other documents on all defendants. The parties then engage in discovery. It is a process in which documents and declarations are made public under the oath. During discovery medical records and notes from a doctor are typically requested.
In the majority of states, you must establish four elements to be compensated for the injuries caused by medical malpractice which includes a duty to the healthcare provider and a breach of the duty; a causal link between the breach and the injury suffered by the patient as well as damages that result from the injury. If your lawyer can prove all of these elements, you will have a strong case for financial recovery in a medical malpractice case.
In some instances the court can decide to award punitive damages. These are designed to punish the offender and deter others from engaging in the same conduct. But, this isn’t often the case in grand island medical malpractice law firm malpractice cases, since courts require precise proof of malice before they can award these extraordinary awards.