How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers an object foreign to the body such as surgical clamps inside her body following gall bladder surgery could sue for medical negligence. A successful lawsuit must prove the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviation from this obligation, direct cause and injury.

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

Causes of Injury

A claim for medical malpractice law firm malpractice can be filed either by the person who suffered the injury or an attorney. Based on the specific circumstances, this could be the spouse of the patient, an adult child or parent, a guardian ad-litem or administrator or executor of the estate of the deceased patient. In a medical malpractice case the defendant is the health care provider. This could be a licensed nurse, doctor or therapist.

Expert testimony is often required in cases of malpractice. Medical experts must be able to testify that the health care provider was acting in accordance with the standards of medical care within their specific field of expertise. They must also testify regarding the harm caused by the doctor's actions or actions or.

Injuries resulting from malpractice and negligence can be extremely serious. A misdiagnosis could have grave consequences, like the possibility of a life-threatening illness. Other types of injuries could include performing surgery on the wrong body part or putting instruments inside the patient during surgery.

To establish a malpractice claim the patient must prove four legal elements: a duty that the doctor owed them; a breach in the breach; a resulting injury; and damages. In some states such as New York the law limits the amount of money awarded in a case of malpractice.

Causation

The element of injury is known as the causation. It is one of most important elements in a medical malpractice claim. To establish causation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that they sustained the injury on a balance of probabilities as a result of the negligence of the doctor. This can be a difficult task due to a variety of reasons.

Many of the injuries that are the basis for medical negligence lawsuits result from long-term conditions or ongoing illnesses that existed before treatment began. The time limit for a medical malpractice case could be extended over a period of time, and injuries can develop slowly.

In these cases it is difficult to prove that a medical professional's failure to adhere to the standard of care that led to the injury is a challenge. However, the patient who was hurt may be able to use evidence gathered by the attorney, like medical documents and expert testimony.

During the discovery process, which is a part of the legal procedure for prepping for trial, your lawyer can ask for the disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from the lawyers of the defendants. The doctor defending the lawsuit is then called to testify during deposition, which is testimony given under the oath. Your lawyer can challenge doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide then if the plaintiff has established the essential elements of their case such as obligation, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

The plaintiff must convince the jury in a case of medical malpractice that it is likely that the doctor did not fulfill his or her responsibilities as a doctor and that these actions led to injury. The attorney representing the plaintiff must prove this by using evidence gathered during pretrial discovery. This includes seeking documents, such as medical records, from all parties involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, in which statements are made under oath, and recorded to be used at trial, are also part of this process.

A doctor was in breach of his or her professional duty if he or she did something that a reasonable prudent doctor would not do in similar circumstances. However it must be established that the breach directly caused the injury to the patient. This is referred to as causation or proxy causes. A patient may go to the hospital in order to have a hernia fixed, and instead, have their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice because the removal of the gall bladder did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a legal time frame, also known as the statute of limitations. This differs from state-to-state. The person who has suffered injury must prove that the care provided was substandard and caused injury, and then prove the amount of financial compensation they are entitled to.

Damages

If medical negligence has caused you to sustain an injury, you are entitled to be compensated. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive a fair and complete compensation for your losses.

The first step in a lawsuit is to file and serve a complaint along with summons and other papers on all defendants. The parties then engage in discovery. It is a process where documents and statements are revealed under oath. Medical records and doctor's notes are typically requested during discovery.

In the majority of states, to receive compensation for injuries sustained through malpractice, you need to prove four things including a duty of good faith that is due to the healthcare provider, a breach of this duty; a causal link between the breach and injury; and damages that result from the injury. If your attorney can prove all of these elements in a medical malpractice claim, you will have a strong case.

In some instances, courts can decide to award punitive damages. These are intended to penalize the wrongdoer and deter others from engaging in the same conduct. This is rare however, in medical malpractice cases. The courts must have clear evidence of malice before they are able to make these extraordinary awards.