Medical Malpractice AttorneysMedical professionals must comply with a certain standard of care when caring for their patients. If a medical professional is not able to meet this standard, and if the failure causes injuries or complications for the patient, there could be grounds for a malpractice claim.
A successful malpractice lawsuit can help pay for medical costs, reimburse lost wages, as well as acknowledge pain and discomfort. However, medical malpractice lawsuits can be complicated.
Undiagnosed
Medical malpractice lawsuits involving misdiagnosis are quite common. This type of case is typically brought by a health care provider who misdiagnoses the patient's condition or injury. A physician might diagnose a patient as having pneumonia when in fact the patient has staph. A mistake in diagnosis can have grave consequences, including death.
According to medical malpractice insurance companies, diagnosis-related malpractice claims account for 9 percent (obstetrics) and 61% (pediatrics) of their total claims. Medical malpractice claims data are not comprehensive and may be biased towards more severe mistakes. Furthermore, claims often lapse or are dismissed without payment, and many meritorious errors won't result in a malpractice lawsuit.
To succeed in bringing a medical malpractice claim, the plaintiff must prove that the doctor violated the standard of care when diagnosing the condition. A plaintiff's attorney must also demonstrate that the doctor's error resulted in injury.
The process of bringing the case of medical malpractice can be lengthy, costly and emotionally demanding. Even though the majority of medical malpractice cases are settled out of court, attorneys and expert witnesses must spend time and money on discovery, negotiations and trial preparation. Physicians are often required to pay for their malpractice insurance when the claims process progresses. These costs have led some to call for tort reform, which will lower the cost and speed up settlements.
Errors of Treatment
When you visit a doctor or hospital to receive treatment, the medical care you receive will be in accordance with the standard of care in your locality. This includes accurate diagnosis and treatment, a reasonable course of treatment and adequate follow-up to ensure that your health improves. However, mistakes made by nurses, doctors, and other medical staff can be severe and result in permanent injuries or even death.
These errors can take on a variety of forms. A hospital staff member may not understand the chart of a patient and then administer the wrong medication. This kind of error is common in emergency rooms where staff are under pressure and their time is a problem. It can also happen if an ER doctor is treating a condition that is outside of their expertise.
Other types of errors include prescribing the wrong medication or giving patients an improper dosage that results in injury. These errors can be made by doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists and optometrists. They may also be caused by an inability to prescribe or suggest follow-up care needed to treat the error.
Medication errors can lead to various serious injuries. Taken by heart patients, blood thinners can cause bleeding disorders that are dangerous. It could also cause stroke. If you or a loved one was injured by an error in medical care and you are concerned about the consequences, consult an experienced New York medical negligence lawyer to determine if you're eligible to seek compensation.
Negligence
When medical professionals or doctors do not follow accepted standards of care, they could be found guilty of negligence. This can occur in a variety of settings, including hospitals, doctors' offices, therapy clinics, and nursing homes. If a doctor does not adhere to these guidelines and the patient is permanently hurt it could be necessary to compensate for the harm.
To win a malpractice case the party who was injured must prove that the doctor's breach of professional duties caused the injury. Causation is a legal requirement that is crucial. The breach must be a direct cause for the injury, and the damages must be quantifiable.
In the case of medical negligence, a plaintiff's lawyer must also convince the juror that it is more likely than not that the physician's actions or inactions resulted in the damages sought. This isn't easy because people's memories are not always crystal clear or are affected by the arguments of the other side.
It is also important that the lawyer has a thorough knowledge of the medical profession and how it works. This knowledge can be used to prove that the breach in professional duty caused the patient's injury. Medical malpractice cases are filed in federal or state courts. They often involve expert witnesses who can explain how the standard of care was not met.
Punitive Damages
We often assume that medical professionals will provide us with the best care and professionalism. But serious errors can occur that can cause life-long injuries or even death. If the errors result in an unintentional death, the victim and their families may be entitled to compensation for the loss they've suffered.
In the case of wrongful deaths, hospitals, doctors and nurses along with pharmacists, physical therapists, and pharmacists along with diagnostic imaging technicians, as well as manufacturers of medical equipment, are all liable to be sued. It's important to sue all parties involved, as there could be multiple parties responsible. Victims must consult with their New York medical negligence lawyers to determine which individuals or businesses are responsible.
Punitive damages seek to penalize the defendant for their conduct and discourage them from repeating the same behavior in the future. Contrary to compensatory damages which are designed to address specific damages the punitive damages may be applied to a broad category of people, but they are typically reserved for the most serious of violations.
The first type of damages in the case of
medical malpractice lawsuit malpractice is reimbursement for actual financial losses, such as medical costs and lost wages. Your New York medical negligence lawyer can assist you in determining the amount of your damages by presenting an expert opinion on what is considered to be a violation of standard care in the case's location and specialty. This is an essential step, as without the evidence you require to support your claim, it could be dismissed in the preliminary hearing.