How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds an object foreign to her body, such as surgical clamps inside her body after gall bladder surgery may file a lawsuit for medical malpractice. A successful lawsuit must establish the elements of medical malpractice: duty, deviance from the duty, and direct cause.

It is essential for our clients to establish a direct relationship between the breach of duty and the damage which is referred to as proximate cause.

Cause of Injury

A medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed by the injured person or by a person legally appointed to act on their behalf. This could be a spouse or adult child, parent, guardian or administrator of an estate belonging to a deceased patient depending on the specific circumstances. The defendant in a lawsuit for medical malpractice is the health care provider. This could be a doctor, nurse, therapist or any other licensed health care professional.

Expert testimony is typically required in malpractice cases. Medical experts are required to determine if the health care provider performed his duties in accordance with the standard of medical care within their special area of expertise. They must also testify to the damage caused by the actions or inactions of the doctor.

Injuries caused by negligence and mistakes can be catastrophic. For example, a mistake in the diagnosis of a health problem could cause life-threatening complications. Other kinds of injuries include operating on the wrong body part or putting surgical instruments in the patient.

The patient must prove four legal elements in a malpractice case which include a duty to the patient by the physician; a breach of this obligation; an injury resulting by the breach and the consequential damages. In certain states like New York the law limits the amount of money awarded in a malpractice case.

Causation

The element of injury is known as the causation. It is among the most important elements in a medical malpractice claim. To prove causation, a plaintiff must demonstrate that they suffered an injury based on a balance of probabilities because of the negligence of a physician. This can be a difficult task due to a variety of reasons.

Many injuries that are the basis for a medical negligence lawsuit result from long-term illnesses or medical malpractice Law firms conditions which were present before treatment began. The time-limit for a medical malpractice case can be extended for a number of years and injuries can develop slowly.

In these instances, proving that a medical professional's violation of the standard of care and led to the injury is not easy. However, the patient who was hurt could be able to make use of evidence gathered by the attorney, like medical records and expert testimony.

In the discovery process that is part of the legal process preparation for a trial, your attorney can request that the lawyers representing the defendants disclose expert testimony and other documents. The doctor who is representing the case will be asked to testify in deposition. This is a statement which is under the oath. Your lawyer may cross-examine the doctor and challenge the doctor's findings. The jury will then decide if the plaintiff has established the necessary elements of their claim, which includes obligation, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

When a medical malpractice claim is filed in court, the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor violated professional duties and that the breaches resulted in injuries. The plaintiff's lawyer must demonstrate this with evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which involves asking for disclosure of documents such as 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 part of this process.

A doctor has violated their professional obligation in the event that they did something a reasonable prudent physician would not have done in the same circumstances. However it must be established that the breach directly caused the injury to the patient. This is known as causation or the proximate cause. For example the patient is admitted to the hospital for a hernia surgery and then has his or her gall bladder removed instead. This is medical malpractice Law Firms malpractice as the removal of the gall bladder was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally regulated period of time, called the statute of limitations which varies by state. The victim must demonstrate that the treatment was substandard and resulted in injury, and after that they have to prove the amount of compensation they are entitled to.

Damages

If a medical error has caused you to sustain an injury, you have the right to be made whole. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive full and fair compensation for your losses.

The first step in a lawsuit is to file and serve a complaint or summons, as well as other documents on all defendants. The parties then participate in discovery, a procedure in which documents and declarations are made public under oath. During discovery, medical records and doctor's notes are typically requested.

In most states, you must demonstrate four elements in order to be compensated for the injuries caused by medical malpractice: a duty owed by the healthcare provider and a breach of that duty; a causal link between the breach and the injury suffered by the patient and damages resulting from the injury. If your attorney can establish all of these elements, then you've got an extremely strong case for financial compensation in a claim for medical malpractice.

In some cases the court can give punitive damages that is designed to punish a wrongdoer, and deter others from engaging in similar conduct. However, this is rare in medical malpractice cases because the courts require clear evidence of malice to give these extraordinary awards.