Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Medical professionals must meet a standard of care when treating their patients. If a health care provider is not able to meet this standard, and this failure results in injuries or complications to the patient, it may be grounds for a claim for negligence.

A successful malpractice lawsuit can aid in the payment of medical expenses as well as pay back lost wages and acknowledge discomfort and pain. However, medical malpractice lawsuits are often complex.

The wrong diagnosis

Medical malpractice claims that involve incorrect diagnosis are common. This type of claim is typically brought by a health care provider who incorrectly diagnoses an injury or illness in a patient. For instance, a physician might diagnose a patient with pneumonia when the patient actually has a staph infection. A misdiagnosis can have grave consequences for the patient including death.

According to medical malpractice insurance companies the diagnosis-related malpractice claims make up for between 9 percent (obstetrics) and 61 percent (pediatrics) of their total claims. Medical malpractice claims are comparatively small and could be biased towards more serious mistakes. Most claims are dismissed or lapsed without payment, and many meritorious mistakes will never lead to the filing of a malpractice lawsuit.

A plaintiff must prove, in order to win a lawsuit for medical negligence that the doctor failed to follow the standard of care when diagnosing the condition. The lawyer representing the plaintiff must prove that the doctor's error directly led to an injury.

The process of bringing a medical malpractice case is costly, time-consuming and emotionally charged. Although a majority of medical malpractice cases settle without trial, the attorneys for both parties and experts must devote time and money in negotiations, discovery, and trial preparation. In addition, doctors are often required to pay for their malpractice insurance premiums while the claims process unfolds. These expenses have led some to advocate for tort reform, which will lower the cost and promote more timely settlements.

Treatment Errors

When you visit a physician or hospital for treatment, you expect to receive medical treatment that is in accordance with the standard guidelines of practice in your local area. This includes a thorough diagnosis and a reasonable treatment plan and adequate follow-up in order to ensure that your health improves. However, mistakes by nurses, doctors, and other medical personnel can be severe and cause permanent injuries or even death.

These errors can take on a variety of forms. A hospital employee could miss-read the chart of a patient and administer the incorrect medication. This kind of error usually occurs in emergency rooms, where there is a short time frame and staff members are under pressure to deliver fast service. It can also happen when a doctor is treating an illness that is not within the scope of specialization.

Other types of mistakes include prescribing incorrect medications or giving patients a wrong dosage that results in injury. These mistakes can be made by doctors, nurse practitioners as well as pharmacists, physician assistants and optometrists. They could also result in the failure to prescribe or suggest follow-up care needed to treat the error.

Mistakes in medication can lead to many serious injuries. For heart patients, blood thinners can cause a serious bleeding disorder. It could also cause stroke. If you have suffered an injury or Medical malpractice lawyers lost your loved ones due to a medical error, it is crucial to consult a knowledgeable New York medical malpractice lawyer to determine if you can seek compensation.

Negligence

If medical professionals or doctors do not follow accepted standards of care, they may be guilty of negligence. This could happen in a variety environments, including hospitals doctor's offices, therapy clinics and nursing homes. If a doctor violates these guidelines and the patient is permanently hurt it could be necessary to compensate the victim for the harm.

To win a malpractice claim the plaintiff must demonstrate that the physician's lapse in the discharge of professional duties caused the injuries. This is referred to as causation and is an essential part of the legal requirement. The breach has to be a direct cause of the injury and the damage that occurred must be quantifiable, for example, lost wages or medical expenses.

In the case of medical negligence the lawyer representing the plaintiff must convince jurors that it is more likely than not that a doctor's actions or inactions led to the damages sought. This is a challenging task because people aren't always in a clear mind or are affected by the opinions that the opposing side will say.

It is also crucial that the lawyer has a thorough knowledge of the medical profession and how it functions. This knowledge can be used to show that the breach in professional duty led to the patient's injury. Medical malpractice cases can be filed in state or Federal courts, and usually include expert witnesses who define the standard of medical care that was not met.

Punitive Damages

We assume that medical professionals will treat us with skill, care and professionalism. Serious errors can lead to serious injuries, or even death. If these errors lead to a wrongful demise, the family members of the victims could be entitled to compensation for injuries they've suffered.

In cases of wrongful death, there are claims against doctors, hospitals nurses, physical therapists, pharmacists and diagnostic imaging technicians and even manufacturers of medical equipment. Because several parties could be involved, it's often advisable for victims to make claims against all of them while working with their New York medical malpractice lawyers to determine which persons or businesses need to be sued.

Punitive damages aim to punish the defendant for their actions and deter them from repeating the same mistake in the future. Punitive damages aren't limited to specific ailments. They can be applied to a whole category of people, and are only available for extreme violations.

In a medical malpractice case the first type of damages is compensation for financial losses. This includes medical costs and lost wages. Your New York medical malpractice lawyer can help you establish the amount of your losses by presenting expert testimony on what constitutes a breach of the standards of care in the specific area of your case as well as in the specialty. This is an important step because, without this evidence, your claim could be denied at the preliminary hearing level.