Medical Malpractice Attorneys
Medical professionals must adhere to a certain standard of care for their patients. If a medical professional is not able to meet this standard, and this failure causes injuries or complications for the patient, it could be grounds for a lawsuit for negligence.
A successful malpractice lawsuit can aid in the payment of medical expenses or reimburse lost wages. It can also acknowledge pain and suffering. However, medical malpractice lawsuits are usually complicated.
Misdiagnosis
The misdiagnosis of a patient is among the most common medical malpractice claims. This type of case is typically brought by a health care doctor who fails to correctly diagnose a patient's illness or injury. A physician may identify a patient as having pneumonia, but in reality the patient has staph. A mistake can have serious consequences, such as death.
According to
medical malpractice law firms malpractice insurance companies, claims related to diagnosis represent between 9 and 10 percent of claims (obstetrics and 61 percent for pediatrics) or their total claims. Medical malpractice claims data are not comprehensive and may be biased towards more severe mistakes. Furthermore, many claims fall through or are dismissed without payment and a large number of errors that are meritorious are not a cause for malpractice lawsuit.
A plaintiff must demonstrate that, in order to prevail on a case for medical malpractice, that the doctor didn't follow the standard of care when diagnosing the condition. The lawyer representing the plaintiff needs to prove that the doctor's error directly triggered an injury.
The process of bringing medical malpractice cases can be costly as well as time-consuming and emotionally charged. Even though the majority of medical malpractice cases are settled out of court lawyers and expert witnesses must spend time and money on discovery, negotiations and trial preparation. Additionally, doctors are often forced to pay for their malpractice insurance premiums while the claims process is in progress. These costs have led some to call for tort reform, which could reduce the amount and facilitate faster settlements.
Errors in Treatment
You can expect that when visit a doctor or hospital for treatment, the medical attention you receive will be in line with the standard of care in your area. This includes proper diagnosis and treatment, a reasonable treatment plan, and the proper follow-up to ensure that your health improves. However, mistakes by doctors, nurses and other
Medical Malpractice Law Firm personnel can be extremely serious and cause permanent injuries or even death.
These errors can take on a variety of forms. For instance staff members at hospitals could misread the patient's chart and give the incorrect medication. This type of error is common in emergency rooms where staff are under pressure and time is limited. It could also happen when a doctor treats an issue outside of the scope of expertise.
Other types of errors can include prescribing incorrect medications or giving patients the wrong dose that can cause injury. These mistakes can be made by pharmacists, doctors, nurse practitioners, physician's assistants, and optometrists. They can also involve an inability to prescribe or recommend follow-up treatment required to correct the problem.
Errors in the prescription process can cause many serious injuries. For example, taking the wrong blood thinner actually intended for heart patients could cause a bleeding disorder or cause the patient to experience stroke. If you or someone you love has been injured due to an error made by a doctor it is recommended that you consult an experienced New York medical negligence lawyer to determine whether you can claim compensation.
Negligence
Negligence can be a result of medical professionals not following accepted standards. This could happen in a variety situations, including hospitals, doctors' offices, therapy clinics, and nursing homes. If a doctor does not adhere to these guidelines and the patient suffers permanent harm it could be necessary to compensate for the harm.
In order to prevail in a claim for malpractice, the injured party has to prove that the physician's breach in their professional duties led to his or her injuries. This is referred to as causation and is a vital part of the legal standard. The breach has to be a direct cause of the injury, and the damage that occurred must be quantifiable. For instance, medical or lost wages.
In the case of medical malpractice the lawyer representing the plaintiff must convince jurors that it is more likely than not that a doctor's actions or inactions contributed to the damages sought. This can be a difficult task because people aren't always in a clear mind or are guided by their beliefs about the case that the opposing side will say.
It is also important that the lawyer has a strong knowledge of the medical profession and the way it functions. This knowledge can be used to show that the breach in professional duty caused the patient's injury.
Medical malpractice cases can be filed in state or Federal courts, and often require expert witnesses to explain the standard of care that was breached.
Punitive Damages
We often assume that medical professionals will provide us with the best care and professionalism. However, mistakes of a serious nature can occur, leading to lifelong injuries or even death. If these errors cause an unintentional death, the victims and their family members may be entitled to compensation for the loss they've suffered.
In the case of wrongful deaths hospitals, doctors and nurses, physical therapists and pharmacists along with diagnostic imaging technicians and manufacturers of medical equipment, could be sued. Since multiple parties could be responsible it's usually recommended for victims to claim against them all and work with their New York medical malpractice lawyers to determine which people or businesses should be sued.
Punitive damages are designed to penalize the defendant and discourage them from repeating the same behavior in the future. As opposed to compensatory damages that are intended to address specific damages, punitive damages can be applied to a whole group of people, and they are typically reserved for extreme misconduct.
The primary category of damages in the case of medical malpractice is a reimbursement for actual financial losses, including expenses for medical treatment and lost wages. Your New York medical negligence lawyer can help you determine the amount of your damages by presenting an expert opinion on what constitutes a breach of standard of care in the specific location and area of the. This is a crucial procedure, since without the evidence you need to prove your case, it may be dismissed during the initial hearing.