What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?
A medical negligence claim involves a patient complaining about the negligence of a healthcare professional. The patient (or his or her estate if the patient died) must prove that the negligence led to injury or harm.
In general, lawsuits alleging medical negligence are filed in state trial courts. To win a lawsuit, the aggrieved party has to demonstrate four legal elements:
Duty of care
To establish a legal claim, the plaintiff must demonstrate that they was owed a duty of duty by an individual or a company and that they did not fulfill the obligation. In the case of medical negligence, it is the responsibility of a doctor to provide the proper level of care to their patients. Expert testimony is typically used to determine this.
Expert witnesses help determine the proper
medical malpractice attorneys standards and then prove that a physician did not follow those standards in their treatment of the patient. A plaintiff's attorney for
medical malpractice has to demonstrate that the deviation caused the victim's injuries.
Expert testimony is crucial since jurors typically have only a basic understanding of anatomy, and they watch numerous medical dramas. This is especially important in medical malpractice cases as it can be difficult to establish a standard of care. In the context of a medical malpractice case, the standard of care refers to the degree of skill as well as the quality of treatment and the level of diligence displayed by other doctors with similar areas of expertise in similar circumstances.
Typically, experts in medical malpractice cases are surgeons or fellow doctors who have the same qualifications and board certifications. It can be difficult to locate an expert willing to testify against substandard medical treatment due to the "conspiracy" of silence among doctors.
Breach of duty
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor is negligent and hurts the patient. The mistakes could cause new injuries or make existing ones worse. Medical malpractice claims are complicated issues and laws, which makes them difficult to prove. A competent medical malpractice lawyer will investigate your case to determine whether a doctor has violated their obligation to you.
Your attorney will prove that there was a doctor-patient relationship between you and your physician, which is necessary in any malpractice claim. Your attorney will review the actions and decisions of your physician to determine if the standard of care in your state for doctors who have similar training, backgrounds and geographical location is fulfilled.
Doctors are required to adhere to the standards established by their patients without deviation or omission. A breach of duty implies that the doctor didn't meet your expectations, and this has caused injury to you.
Proving the breach of duty is generally straightforward with the aid of your attorney's research and expert witnesses. Those experts can testify as to the reasons why the doctor's actions did or did not meet the standards of care and explain how another medical professional in similar circumstances might have different actions. Your lawyer must also connect the breach of duty with your injuries and damages. Your lawyer will examine your medical records and test results, prescriptions and imaging scans in order to construct a convincing case that the breach of duty of your physician directly resulted in your injuries.
Causation
Medical errors can increase the dangers of many treatments. To prove the causality, a patient who has suffered an injury has to show an immediate connection between the alleged negligence of a doctor and the injury. In many instances, this requires expert testimony and the help of a lawyer for medical malpractice.
For example, not diagnosing an illness or disease is a common error. If the doctor fails to identify cancer or another disease the result could have devastating consequences for the patient. In this scenario the patient could experience unneeded suffering, or even death. The doctor may have committed malpractice by not diagnosing the issue properly.
Proving that a hospital or doctor did not treat you properly isn't easy and takes a lot of time. Evidence may come from a variety of sources, including medical records and test results, as well as expert witness testimony and depositions. Your attorney can assist in obtaining and understanding this evidence, as well being your advocate during the process of depositions.
It is also important to note that only a healthcare professional is liable for misconduct. Unlike receptionists at medical centers nurses and doctors are expected to behave in accordance to the standard of care. Medical professionals should be able of predicting the consequences of his or her education and skills.
Damages
In
Medical Malpractice lawyers malpractice cases, courts hear about monetary damages that are intended to compensate the injured patient. These damages could include future or past medical bills or wages lost or income, pain and disfigurement, or loss of enjoyment living. In some cases, punitive damages are granted in certain cases. These are awarded only to the most egregious of actions that society would like to discourage.
A medical malpractice case starts with the filing in the court of an administrative summons. Then, the parties will engage in discovery, a procedure through which the plaintiff and defendants will make public statements under an oath. This can include requesting the exchange of documents like medical records, deposing parties involved in the lawsuit and conducting interviews with witnesses.
In a case of medical malpractice it is essential to prove that the doctor was legally bound to provide treatment and care to the patient. The second element is that the doctor violated this duty by failing to adhere the medical standards of practice. The third element is that the breach resulted in harm to the patient.
It is important to remember that the statute of limitations (the legally-defined time frame within which a medical malpractice claim must be filed) differs from state to state. In New York, the statute of limitations is two years and six months (30 months) from the date on which the underlying act of medical malpractice took place.