How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

To bring a medical malpractice lawsuit against a doctor or a hospital you must establish that the defendant has breached their duty towards patients. This can be evidence from hospitals and medical records.

Our attorneys have extensive expertise in obtaining depositions that are successful. They could be doctors or other medical professionals who are in private practice, or working at a clinic or hospital.

Negligence

Patients are entitled to be treated with respect to certain standards when they visit a hospital, doctor or health professional. However, in a few instances these standards are not adhered to or even breached. The results of this breach can be devastating.

If someone is injured or suffers death due to a doctor's negligence, they can file a lawsuit against the medical professional. To prove a case the patient who has been injured must prove four legal elements including breach of duty and causation and damages.

Malpractice is defined as an act or omission of medical professionals that is contrary to the accepted norms of medicine in the medical community, and causes injury to the patient. It is a subset of tort law, which deals with civil violations that are not legally binding or criminal in nature.

Medical negligence differs from regular negligence because the injured party must prove that the physician was aware or ought to have known that their actions would cause harm to be able to claim malpractice, however normal negligence does not. A surgeon who accidentally cuts or nicks an artery or nerve during surgery is guilty of negligence, but not malpractice. This is because the surgeon did not intend to harm anyone.

In the event of a medical malpractice lawsuit the defendant's responsibility is to treat the patient in accordance with the standard of care that a reasonably prudent health care professional of similar experience and qualifications would provide in similar circumstances. The violation of this obligation is a crucial element since it proves that the alleged negligent behavior caused the injury.

Damages

Damages in a malpractice case are determined by the losses you sustained due to the negligence of a doctor. They can be a combination of financial loss, like the expense of medical treatment in the future and non-economic losses, such as suffering and pain.

To claim damages, you have to prove that the doctor did not fulfill a duty of care, that the doctor's deviation from that standard resulted in injury, and that this injury had quantifiable monetary consequences. This is a complicated legal process that usually requires expert witness testimony.

Some of these losses are obvious like when your doctor made a mistake that led to an infection or other medical complications that required additional treatment in the aftermath. Certain damages are more difficult to identify in the event that a doctor misdiagnoses your condition and you do not receive the correct treatment.

You can sue wrongful death when a doctor's negligence caused your death. In these claims you are entitled to all the benefits you would have received in a survival case and punitive damages.

In most states, there is a limit on what you can claim in a lawsuit for malpractice. These limits vary from state to state and typically apply to both economic and non-economic damages. Some states have laws that limit the length of time you have to wait before filing a lawsuit.

Time Limits

As with any lawsuit there are time limits which must be adhered to or the case could be barred. A malpractice lawsuit must generally be filed between two and six years after the monticello malpractice lawyer occurred. The exact time frame is different for each state.

The time frame can be complicated and it is important to speak with an attorney immediately. The law firm will conduct an investigation to determine if Anderson malpractice lawsuit occurred and if it will hold up in the court. This process can take several weeks or even months.

Medical malpractice cases are governed by different laws, and the statute of limitations is frequently altered. In Pennsylvania, a patient has two years from the date that they were aware of the error. This is known as the discovery rule.

In other states the statute of limitations begins to run from the date the rittman malpractice attorney occurred. This is a problem if the medical error doesn't cause immediate symptoms. For example, suppose the doctor is negligently leaving a foreign object in the body after surgery. The patient may not be aware of the object until three years after the procedure. In this scenario, the statutes of limitations may have started at the time of the procedure, not necessarily the time of discovery of an error.

Expert Witnesses

Many medical malpractice cases rely on experts to clarify the facts of the case. The expert of the plaintiff will testify regarding the duty of the doctor towards the patient, medical standards for physicians with similar qualifications in the same area as well as the specific ways the defendant deviated from the standard. The expert will explain how the departure directly led to the injury of the patient.

The defendant will engage an expert to challenge the plaintiff's expert, and give their professional opinion as to whether the doctor met the standards of care. The experts may disagree but the fact-finder will decide which expert is the most trustworthy.

It is advisable for the expert to remain working in the medical profession since they are more knowledgeable about the current practices. Jurors and judges often find practicing professionals more credible than experts whose sole source of income is testifying in court.

It is also beneficial to get an expert witness that is specialized in the field of legal malpractice. For example an expert in medical practice who is experienced in treating breast cancer could make a an argument more convincing regarding the reason for the plaintiff's injuries. A medical malpractice lawyer in Ocala knows which experts to talk to.