How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
A patient who believes he or she suffered a loss due to a mistake made by a health care provider can file a lawsuit for medical malpractice. These cases differ from personal injury lawsuits because they use a specialized standard to determine the extent of negligence.
In the United States, malpractice claims are settled through state trial courts. Each state has its laws and procedures.
Duty of care
A surgeon, doctor or nurse or any other health care professional, is obligated to their patients a duty of caring. The law states that any health care professional treating you owes a duty to uphold the accepted medical practices, without deviation or omission.
The medical standard of care is the legal standard to which all medical malpractice claims are evaluated. It is crucial to a successful claim, because it lays out an exact method for the person who was injured and his or her attorney to prove negligence by proving that a medical professional did not meet the standards of care.
Proving the standard of care often requires the assistance of a medical expert witness. They are essential in establishing the standard of care applicable to the particular case, and how the defendants infringed on this standard.
It is also important to prove that the breach of duty caused your injury, illness, or death. In
medical malpractice lawsuits damages could include hospital expenses loss of income, future earning capacity, suffering, pain, and even punitive damage. Your lawyer will need to prove the amount of damages you are entitled to, which could be greater than the original medical costs. This is a little easier in certain cases than others. In certain instances this is more straightforward than in other situations.
Breach of duty
A physician owes the patient the duty of acting in accordance with medical standards of care when providing treatments or providing services. Patients who are injured by a doctor's negligence may file a malpractice suit.
Medical negligence can be a result of various actions, such as errors in diagnosis, dosage of medication and health management, treatment and aftercare. To make a claim valid the plaintiff has to prove four legal elements. These include:
The first requirement is a doctor-patient relationship. The doctor has a responsibility to inform patients of any risks and complications that may be involved with the procedure. Even if the procedure was completed in a perfect manner, the doctor could be held liable for malpractice in the event they fail to warn the patient. If the doctor didn't warn the patient that a certain procedure was likely to have a 30% chance of losing limbs then the patient might not have consented to it.
The second aspect that must be proved is an infraction to the standard of care. To show that the doctor did not follow from the norm, the lawyer will require an expert witness testimony. Additionally, it has to be established that the violation caused the patient's injury.
The court system can be slow to resolve medical negligence cases. This is because it requires many hours of time by the physician and attorney, in addition to extensive research and interviews with experts and a thorough study of medical and legal literature. Physicians who are who is facing a malpractice suit is required to pay significant court costs, attorney's work products and expenses, as well as expenses for expert testimony.
Causation
All healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals are human beings and can make mistakes. When these mistakes are at the point of being considered malpractice, patients can suffer life-threatening and fatal injuries. It requires the expertise of both lawyers and doctors to prove that a health provider has acted negligently in duty that caused injury. A successful case requires four legal elements to be established: a physician-patient relation that is based on the doctor's duty to care for the patient, the doctor's violation of that duty, and the injury that resulted from the breach.
It must also be established that the doctor's deviation from the standard of care was a direct and primary cause of the injury. This element has a higher legal standard than "beyond reasonable doubt" in criminal cases. The lawyer representing the plaintiff has to convince the jury/factfinder that it is more likely than not that the doctor's actions were negligent, and that negligence was the primary cause of the injury.
Expert medical witnesses are typically required at the beginning of the process to establish all of these elements. According to Rhode Island law only doctors who have the proper education, training and experience in the field of suspected malpractice are able to give expert testimony. This is why selecting an expert in medical expertise is a crucial aspect of the malpractice case.
Damages
Medical malpractice lawsuits aim to recover damages which include future and past expenses that are due to an injury. These expenses could include hospital bills, doctor's appointments, pain and discomfort, and lost wages. The amount of damages paid is determined by the jury by the evidence presented.
During the trial, the plaintiff or their lawyer must prove four main legal elements: (1) a physician was obligated to perform a professional obligation; (2) the doctor did not fulfill this duty when he or she acted negligently; (3) the doctor's negligence caused injuries; and (4) the damage caused by the injury was quantifiable. A doctor's performance is not malpractice if you are unhappy with it. However, there must be an injury. A qualified expert witness will be able to clarify whether a doctor has violated the standards of care.
The legal process for a malpractice case could last for years. This is because "discovery" involves the exchange of documents and sworn statements of the parties involved. While many cases settle before reaching the courtrooms, a portion of these claims go all the way to a jury trial and verdict.
To reduce the risk of liability for malpractice, some states have taken a number legislative and administrative measures collectively referred to as tort reform. Additionally, a handful of states have implemented alternative dispute resolution methods such as voluntary binding arbitration. The goal of these alternative methods to civil litigation is to decrease costs of litigation and speed up settlement of malpractice claims while eliminating overly generous juries and weeding out unnecessary
medical malpractice law firm claims.