How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds an object foreign to the body such as surgical clamps within her body after gall bladder surgery could sue for medical malpractice. A successful claim has to prove the elements of medical negligence: duty, deviation from the norm and direct cause.

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 medical negligence case may be initiated by the patient who was injured or a legal person to represent them. Depending on the circumstances it could be the spouse of the patient, an adult child or parent, guardian ad-litem or executor or administrator of the estate of the patient who died. The defendant in a lawsuit for methuen medical malpractice law firm malpractice is the health professional. This could be a nurse, doctor or therapist, or any other health professional.

Malpractice cases typically involve many expert witnesses. Medical experts are required to testify as to whether the healthcare provider performed his duties in accordance with the standard of treatment in their particular field of expertise. They must also testify to the harm that was caused by the doctor’s actions or inactions.

The injuries that result from malpractice and negligence can be very severe. A misdiagnosis can have serious consequences, like the possibility of a life-threatening illness. Other kinds of injuries include operating on the wrong body part or putting surgical instruments in the patient.

In order to establish a malpractice case the patient must prove four legal elements: a duty the doctor owed to them; a breach in this duty; a resultant injury and damages. In certain states, such as New York the law limits the amount of money awarded in a malpractice case.

Causation

The injury element, also referred to as causation, is one of the most important elements of medical malpractice cases. To establish causation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that they suffered their injury on the basis of probabilities due to of the negligence of a physician. This is a challenging task for several reasons.

Many injuries that are the basis for a medical negligence lawsuit result from chronic conditions which were present before treatment began. The time-limit for a medical malpractice case could be extended over the course of several years and injuries can develop slowly.

In these instances it is difficult to prove that a medical professional's breached the standard of care led to the injury is a challenge. However, the aggrieved patient 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 for prepping for trial, your lawyer may request the disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from lawyers representing the defendants. The doctor defending the lawsuit will be called to testify during deposition, which is the testimony under the oath. Your lawyer may challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has proved the elements of the case which include breach of duty, breach and causation.

Negligence

If a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed in court, the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor violated professional duties and that the breached duties caused injury. The plaintiff's attorney must demonstrate this through evidence collected during discovery. This involves soliciting documents, including medical records as well as other documents from all parties in the lawsuit. Depositions, wherein statements are made under oath and recorded for use at trial, are also a part of this procedure.

A doctor has violated their professional obligation if they did something a reasonable prudent physician would not have done in the same circumstances. It must be established that the breach resulted in injury directly to the patient. This is referred to as causation or proximate cause. For example when a patient is taken to the hospital for a hernia procedure and then has his or the gall bladder removed instead. This is medical malpractice because the removal of the gall bladder was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice suits must be filed within a certain timeframe, also known as the statute of limitations. This differs from state-to-state. The patient who was injured must show that the inadequate treatment resulted in injury, and after that they have to prove the amount of compensation they deserve.

Damages

You should be compensated for any injuries that 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 file and serve a complaint, summons and other documents on all defendants. The parties then engage in discovery, a procedure in which documents and statements are disclosed under an oath. Medical records and notes of the doctor are usually requested during discovery.

In most states, you have to demonstrate four elements in order to be compensated for the injuries caused by norwalk medical malpractice lawyer malpractice which includes a duty to the healthcare provider; a breach of that duty; a causal relationship 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 can make a an argument for financial compensation in a medical malpractice claim.

In certain cases the court can give punitive damages, which are designed to punish the culprit and deter others from engaging in similar misconduct. This is not the norm however, particularly in medical malpractice cases. The courts must have clear evidence of malice before they are able to give these extraordinary damages.