Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice attorneys malpractice attorney helps injured patients receive compensation for their losses. The common law system regulates medical malpractice lawsuits.

In common law, doctors must observe an ethical standard when treating their patients. If a doctor is not following the accepted medical standard and results in a death or injury it could be liable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals must adhere to set standards that are accepted by the medical profession as being reasonable and prudent in their medical care. If the standards aren't followed and if they cause injuries or health problems the patient could be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The first step in a case of malpractice is to prove that you were a client of the healthcare provider and that they owed you a duty to act in a reasonable way. Then, you must show the breach of the obligation occurred. This is usually done through the use of experts who can provide an objective analysis and assessment of the situation.

This expert witness will be able to help determine whether or not the defendant's actions fall below the accepted standard of care in the particular case. To enable the expert to make this determination they must be able to examine your medical records and conduct an examination or interview with you.

You should also be able to prove that the breach of duty directly caused the injury. Causation is the 3rd element in a claim for malpractice. In most cases you will need a direct cause and effect relationship between the breach of duty and the subsequent injury. A misdiagnosis, for example can result in prescribing the wrong medication or treatment being given. This in turn can cause a negative reaction such as a heart attack.

Breach of Duty

Like everyone else medical professionals, doctors are under a legal obligation to exercise diligence and care. Doctors are held to higher standards however, since they are medical experts and have the authority to make life-or-death decisions. The duty of care can be found in laws and standards for certain types of treatments and procedures.

In a negligence case it is important to establish that the defendant had a duty to care for the plaintiff. It must be established that the defendant violated the duty of care. This means that the doctor failed to meet the standard of care in the given situation. The quality of care is usually determined by what an ordinary person would do under the same situation. For instance the reasonable driver wouldn't run a red light.

In a malpractice case expert witnesses could be required to testify about the standard of care violated and the way in which this standard was breached. They can also describe how the injury occurred and what could have been done to prevent it from happening.

Damages

In the United States, physicians are required to have malpractice insurance in order to cover any loss that may result from medical negligence. To bring an action for damages the plaintiff must show actual financial losses (such as medical expenses and lost wages) and non-economic losses (such as pain and suffering).

The amount you are awarded from a successful lawsuit for malpractice is contingent on the way in which your New York medical malpractice lawyer makes the case for your losses. Your lawyer can establish medically required costs by looking over your medical records, utilizing experts' testimony, and consulting economic experts. For the loss of your earnings Your medical malpractice lawyer must prove the number of days you were away from work due to medical issues and the fact that these absences were due to the negligence of the defendant.

The non-economic loss can be more difficult to prove, and may require the assistance of a professional who can give evidence about your physical, emotional and mental suffering due to the infractions committed by the defendant. Loss of consortium is a second type of non-economic damage. It is the inability to enjoy an intimate, sexual relationship with your spouse or medical malpractice lawsuit any other significant individual as you once did. The defendant's attorney will challenge your non-economic losses through interrogatories, depositions and requests for documents and evidence under the oath.

Statute of Limitations

Like every state, New York has a statute of limitations that must be fulfilled before a medical malpractice lawsuit - http://maps.Google.mw/, can be filed. Otherwise the court will decide to dismiss it. A seasoned New York medical malpractice lawyer is aware of these specifics and will make sure that your claim is filed before the deadlines established by law.

In the majority of cases, a victim of medical malpractice must make a claim within two and a half years of the date that the negligence or act of a health care provider resulted in the death or injury. As with all laws, this rule is not without exceptions. For instance, if the error committed by the health professional was a part of a continual treatment plan, then the "clock" of 30 months will not begin until the treatment is completed or the patient is informed of the diagnosis.

In some instances patients may not discover the problem until a long time after for instance the case where a foreign body is left in the body following surgery or treatment. Because of this, many states have enacted the legal concept of discovery rule that permits injured victims to extend these deadlines in certain situations. Your lawyer is well-versed in the laws of your state and will scrutinize the timeline of your case with care to avoid any administrative errors which could delay your claims.