What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?
A medical malpractice case is brought by the patient who complains about the negligence of a healthcare worker. The patient, or or estate in the instance of a deceased patient, must prove that the negligence caused injury or harm.
Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually filed in state trial courts. To win a lawsuit, the party who is claiming damages must demonstrate four legal elements:
Duty of care
In any legal case, the plaintiff needs to prove that a person or entity owed them a duty of care and then failed to meet that duty. In medical malpractice cases, this involves a physician's duty to provide their patients with the right standard of care. This is typically determined through expert testimony.
Expert witnesses assist in determining the appropriate medical standards. They then explain how a doctor deviated from those standards in their treatment of the patient. A lawyer representing a plaintiff for medical malpractice has to prove that this deviation caused the victim's injuries.
Expert testimony is essential since jurors are often unfamiliar with anatomy and seen a lot of medical dramas. In medical malpractice claims this is especially important because it is often difficult to establish the appropriate standard of care. In a
medical malpractice lawsuit the standard is the level of competence quality of care, as well as the level of care that other doctors with similar specialties in similar circumstances.
Generally, experts in medical malpractice claims are surgeons or physicians who have the same training and board certifications. It is often difficult to find an expert willing to testify about substandard medical care due to the "conspiracy" of silence among doctors.
Breach of duty
Medical malpractice happens when a doctor is negligent and hurts the patient. Those mistakes can cause new injuries or make existing ones worse. Medical malpractice claims can be difficult to prove because they involve complicated laws and concerns. However, a skilled medical malpractice lawyer will review the circumstances of your case and determine whether a doctor breached his or her obligation to the patient.
Your attorney will establish a doctor-patient connection between you and your doctor, which is necessary to prove a malpractice claim. Your attorney will scrutinize your physician's decisions and actions to determine whether the standards of care in your state for doctors who have similar backgrounds, training, and geographic location is satisfied.
Doctors owe it to their patients to adhere to these guidelines without deviation or omission. Breaching that duty means the doctor failed to meet those expectations and that failure resulted in injury to you.
It is simple to establish the breach of duty by using expert witnesses and your attorney's investigation. Expert witnesses can testify to the reasons why the doctor's actions do not meet the standards of care and also explain why a different medical professional in similar circumstances would have behaved differently. Your lawyer must also connect the breach of duty to your injuries and damages. Your lawyer will review your
medical malpractice lawyers records, prescription and test results, imaging scans and prescriptions to build a strong case that the breach of duty committed by your doctor directly caused your injuries.
Causation
Medical errors can increase the dangers of a wide range of treatments. To prove the cause of malpractice in a claim, an injured patient must demonstrate a direct link between the negligence alleged and their injury. In many instances this will require expert testimony and the assistance of a medical malpractice lawyer.
For example, misdiagnosing an illness or disease is a common error. If doctors fail to detect cancer or other conditions, it can have severe consequences for the patient. In this scenario, the patient may experience inexpensive suffering and possibly even death. In failing to recognize the condition properly the doctor could have committed a malpractice.
Proving that a doctor or hospital did not treat you properly is a lengthy and difficult process. The evidence you require could be from various sources, including medical records and test results as well as expert testimony from witnesses and oral depositions. Your lawyer can help you with obtaining and interpreting the evidence, as well as assisting you during the process of depositions.
It is important to know that only healthcare professionals can be sued for negligence. Contrary to receptionists at medical facilities nurses and doctors are expected to operate in accordance with the current standards of care. A medical professional should be able of predicting the consequences of his or qualifications and education.
Damages
In medical malpractice claims the courts are able to determine monetary damages intended to compensate the injured person. These damages could include past or future medical bills and lost wages, pain and discomfort, disfigurement or loss of enjoyment living. Punitive damages can be awarded in some cases. They are reserved for those who commit crimes that society wishes to deter.
A medical malpractice lawsuit typically begins with the filing a civil summons as well as a complaint in court. The parties then engage in discovery, a procedure where the plaintiffs and defendants will make public statements under swearing. This could involve requesting the exchange of documents like medical records, taking depositions from parties involved in the lawsuit and conducting interviews with witnesses.
One of the primary elements to establish in a medical malpractice case is that the doctor had the legal obligation of providing healthcare and treatment to the patient. The other element to establish is that the doctor breached the obligation by failing to adhere to the medical standard of care. The third aspect is that the breach caused injury to the patient.
It is vital to note that the statute of limitations (the legally-defined period within which a medical malpractice claim must be filed) differs from state to state. In New York, the statute of limitations is two years and six months (30 months) from the date on when the underlying incident of medical malpractice took place.