Medical Malpractice Litigation
Medical malpractice litigation is often complicated and time-consuming. Both plaintiffs and defendants are also legally required to pay an expensive cost.
To be able to claim the financial compensation sought in a malpractice lawsuit, an injured patient must show that substandard medical treatment caused injury. This involves establishing four legal elements that include a professional duty and breach of duty, injury, and resulting damages.
Discovery
The most important part of a case involving medical negligence is the gathering of evidence. This can be accomplished through written interrogatories or requests for documents. Interrogatories comprise of questions that the opposing party must answer under oath and are used to establish the facts that will be presented in court. Requests for documents are used to request tangible items, like medical records and test results.
In many cases, your attorney will record the deposition of a defendant physician and witness, which is an audio recording of questions and answers. This allows your attorney to ask the witness or physician questions that would not be permitted at trial. It can be extremely beneficial in cases that involve expert witnesses.
The information collected during pretrial discovery is used in court to prove the following aspects of your claim:
Infractions to the standard of care
Injuries resulting from a breach of the standard care
Proximate cause
A doctor's failure to apply the competence and expertise of doctors in their field of specialization, and which proximately resulted in injury to a patient
Mediation
medical malpractice attorney malpractice trials are essential, but they also have numerous disadvantages. The expense, stress and time commitment required to conduct a trial can have a negative effect on plaintiffs. For defendant health care professionals, a trial can result in humiliation and a loss of respect. It can also result in negative effects on their work and career as the financial settlements made as part of a pretrial settlement are typically reported to national practitioner databanks and state medical licensing boards, and medical societies.
Mediation is a cost-effective, time-efficient, and risk-effective method to settle cases of medical negligence. By avoiding the cost of trial and avoiding erosion of jury verdicts allows both parties to be more flexible in their settlement negotiations.
Before mediation, both parties are required to provide the mediator with an outline of the facts of the case (a "mediation brief"). The parties will often let their communications go through their lawyer instead of directly between themselves at this stage, as direct communications can be used against them later in court. As the mediation progresses it is recommended to concentrate on the strengths of your case, and also be prepared to acknowledge its weaknesses, as well. This will enable the mediator to fill any gaps and give you an appropriate offer.
Trial
Tort reformers are working to establish a system which compensates those hurt by negligence caused by doctors quickly and without excessive costs. While this is a problem however, many states have implemented tort reforms to reduce the cost of medical malpractice claims.
The majority of doctors in the United States have malpractice insurance as a means of protecting themselves from claims of professional negligence. Certain policies may be required by a hospital or medical group as a condition for access to.
To claim compensation for injuries resulting from a medical practitioner’s negligence, the patient who has suffered injury must prove that the doctor did not meet the standard of care that is applicable to the profession they practice. This is referred to as proximate cause and is an essential element of a
medical malpractice lawsuit.
A lawsuit begins by filing an civil summons and complaint in the court of your choice. After this the parties must both engage in a disclosure process. This includes written interrogatories, as well as the creation of documents such as medical records. Depositions (in which lawyers question witnesses under an oath), and requests for admission are also involved.
In a case of medical malpractice, the burden of proof is high. Damages are awarded based on economic losses (such as lost income or the cost of future medical treatment) and non-economic damages such as discomfort and pain. It is essential to consult with an experienced attorney when trying to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Settlement
Settlements are the simplest way to resolve medical malpractice lawsuits. In general, the actual dollar value of a case is negotiated between the plaintiff and the defendants (often through or alongside the defendant's malpractice/professional liability insurer). The result is a check for the patient, which is paid to the plaintiff's lawyer who then deposits it into an account called an escrow. The lawyer deducts the legal fees and costs in accordance with the representation agreement and then provides the injured victims with compensation.
To win a medical malpractice lawsuit, an aggrieved patient must demonstrate that a doctor or other healthcare professional was bound by a duty of care, but violated the duty by failing to perform the required level of knowledge and skill in their field, that as a proximate result of that breach, the victim sustained injuries, and that those injuries can be quantified in terms of financial loss.
In the United States, there are 94 federal district courts, which are equivalent to state trial courts. Each of these courts has an ad-hoc jury and judge panel, which hears cases. In some instances the case of medical malpractice can be transferred to one of these courts. Physicians in the United States typically carry medical malpractice insurance to protect themselves from claims of unintentional harm or wrongdoing. Doctors must be aware of the structure and
medical malpractice lawsuit function of our legal system to ensure that they can react appropriately to a claim brought against them.