Medical Malpractice Law
Medical malpractice cases involve injuries that result from a medical professional's negligence. There are numerous laws that govern such cases, including specific statutes of limitation and damages.
The term "malpractice" refers to situations where an individual is not treated with the same degree of care that other doctors in similar situations. Examples of malpractice are misdiagnosis, birth injuries and surgical errors.
Complaint
Medical malpractice is a specific area of tort law which addresses professional negligence. It is defined as the act or omission of medical professionals that is in violation of the accepted norms within the medical community and causes injuries to a patient [22The law of medical malpractice is a complex one.
Your lawsuit begins when you submit a civil court lawsuit when you've suffered injuries by hospital negligence. In this document you will describe the details of your case. It is also important to mention the hospital you worked at and any doctors that were involved in your case. Based on the circumstances, you might want to agree upfront that health professionals will not be named individually in the lawsuit (this is known as "no-name agreements").
You must then list the injuries and the amount related to each one. Included are future and past medical expenses, income loss due to inability to work, discomfort and pain, and any other losses that you've suffered as a result of a negligence of a doctor. It is imperative to give these documents to your lawyers in the earliest time possible so that they can begin the process of reviewing them thoroughly.
Summons
If you believe that you've been injured due to
medical malpractice attorney negligence, your lawyer writes an order and complaint and files them with the court. The clerk of court assigns an unique number to the case. This number is known as an index number and it will be used to identify the case throughout the courts.
A lawsuit will require a significant amount of effort, time and money by the plaintiff's attorney. These funds are essential to fund legal discovery and expert testimony by doctors. Even in the event that the medical malpractice lawsuit is unsuccessful the case will cost the attorney a huge amount of time and product.
A lawsuit must demonstrate that the health care professional breached a legal duty and caused an injury to the person who filed the claim; and the injury is severe enough to warrant legal recourse. In the United States, the patient must satisfy four legal requirements in order to establish a valid claim for medical malpractice which include the existence of a obligation and the breach of that duty and the causation as well as damages. Medical malpractice claims are covered by the law of the state. However in certain specific circumstances the matter may be transferred to federal district court.
Discovery
After a civil summons are filed in the proper court the formal discovery process starts. Your medical malpractice lawyer will spend much of the time gathering evidence for the case. This could include reviewing medical records using the services of a medical review firm.
This is a crucial phase of the legal procedure because it can help your lawyer uncover vital details that can aid in your claim. It is also the most time-consuming aspect of a medical liability lawsuit.
During the pretrial discovery phase of your case, your lawyer will request from the defendants certain documents and questions. The defendants will be given the opportunity to answer these requests. These questions are posed under the oath of the defendant and must be answered truthfully. Defendants may also make use of these questions to argue defenses in your case. This is why it is crucial to work with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer. They can ensure that all evidence is presented in an simple language for juries and judges.
Request for Admission
Before a
medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed, many states require that the patient present their case to a panel of medical experts who will hear arguments and examine evidence and expert testimony to determine if the claim has enough merit to proceed. The statute of limitations is a law that requires medical malpractice lawsuits to be filed in court within a specific time frame.
In order for a patient's legal team to make the medical malpractice claim, it must be proven that the healthcare professional was not in compliance with the accepted standard of care in their particular field. This is also known as the standard health care yardstick. It is vital that the legal team representing the injured patient be in a position to identify specific examples of deviations from this standard.
Trial
To prove that a doctor committed malpractice, a patient needs to show that: (1) the doctor had a professional obligation of care; (2) the physician did not fulfill this duty, by breaking the standard of care; (3) this breach caused injury; and (4) the injuries resulted in damages. This requires testimony from an expert by a medical professional to assist jurors in understanding relevant medical standards. It is often difficult for a patient who has been injured and her legal team to bridge the gap between the knowledge and experience of the ordinary juror and the highly specialized knowledge and expertise required to determine if there is a case of malpractice.
Malpractice claims are usually filed in state trial courts, which have jurisdiction over the case, however under certain circumstances, they can be filed in federal district courts. Both trial courts are subject to the same laws as other civil litigants. During the depositions of the defendant physicians, the attorneys from both sides ask questions. After a direct examination the opposing attorney is able to cross-examine the physician who testified. This procedure continues until both parties have exhausted their questions.