How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers an object foreign to the body like surgical clamps, remain inside her body following gall bladder surgery may pursue a medical malpractice suit. A successful lawsuit must establish the elements of medical malpractice: duty, deviation from the duty, and direct cause.

Our clients must establish a direct link between the breach of duty and the injury. This is referred to as proximate cause.

Causes of Injury

A medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed by the injured patient or a legal person to act on their behalf. Depending on the circumstances, this may be the spouse of the patient or an adult child parent, guardian ad litem, or the executor or administrator of the estate of the patient who died. In a medical negligence case, the defendant is the health care provider. This could be a doctor, nurse, therapist or any other licensed health care professional.

Expert testimony is often required in malpractice cases. Medical experts must be able to prove whether or not the health care provider adhered to the standards of treatment in their specific field. They also have to testify about injuries caused by doctor's actions or inactions.

Injuries caused by negligence and malpractice can be severe. For instance, a wrong diagnosis of a health issue could have life-threatening consequences. Other types of injuries can include operating on the wrong body part or leaving surgical instruments inside the patient.

In order to establish a malpractice case the patient must prove four legal elements: a duty the doctor owed them; a breach of the breach; a resulting injury; and damages. In certain states, such as New York, the law puts a limit on amount of money that can be awarded for an action for malpractice.

Causation

The element of injury is known as the causation. It is one of the most important aspects in a medical malpractice claim. To establish causation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that their injury was caused by a physician's negligence. This can be a difficult task due to a variety of reasons.

For instance, a lot of injuries that are the subject of a medical-malpractice lawsuit are the result of long-term or ongoing illnesses that were present before treatment began. The time-limit for a medical malpractice case could be extended over several years, and injuries can develop slowly.

In these cases the proof that a medical professional's breached the standard of care and led to the injury is not easy. However, the patient who is afflicted might be able use the evidence collected by the attorney, like medical records and expert testimony.

During the discovery procedure, which is a part of the legal process preparation for a trial, your lawyer may request that the lawyers representing the defendants disclose expert testimony and other documents. The doctor who is defending the case will be required to testify in a deposition. This is a statement that's given under an oath. Your lawyer will be able to challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will then decide whether the plaintiff has proved the essential elements of their case, including the duty of care, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

When a medical negligence claim is filed the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor violated professional duties and that those breaches caused injuries. The lawyer representing the plaintiff must demonstrate this with evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which entails requesting disclosure of documents including medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, in which the statements are made under oath and recorded for use in trial, are also a part of this process.

A doctor has breached their professional duty in the event that they did something a reasonable prudent physician would not have done in similar circumstances. However it must be proved that the breach directly caused injury to the patient. This is called causation or proximate causes. A patient might go to the hospital in order to have a hernia repaired, but end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice as the removal of the gall bladder did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally prescribed period of time, also known as the statute of limitations, that varies from state to state. The patient who is injured must prove that the negligence caused injury, and then demonstrate the amount of compensation he or her deserves.

Damages

If medical negligence has led you to suffer an injury, you should be compensated. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive a fair and Medical malpractice lawsuits complete compensation for your losses.

The first step is to file and serve a complaint and summons on all defendants named in the lawsuit. The parties then engage in discovery, in which documents and statements are made public under oath. During discovery medical records and doctor's notes will usually be requested.

In most states, to be eligible for compensation for injuries incurred through malpractice, you need to establish four elements: a duty of care that is due to the healthcare provider and a breach of that duty; a causal link between the breach and injury; and damages caused by the injury. If your attorney can prove all of these elements in a medical malpractice lawyers malpractice claim, you will have an enviable case.

In certain instances the court might make punitive damages a possibility that is designed to penalize a wrongdoer and discourage others from committing similar misconduct. However, this is rare in medical malpractice cases, as the courts require extremely evident proof of malice in order to award these extraordinary awards.