Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice lawyer can help injured patients get compensation for their losses. The common law system regulates medical malpractice claims.

In the common law, doctors must adhere to an ethical standard when treating their patients. If a doctor does not adhere to 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 a set standards that are accepted by the medical profession as reasonable and prudent in their care. When those standards are not followed and the result is injuries or health problems the patient could be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The first step in a malpractice claim involves establishing that you had a doctor-patient relationship with the healthcare provider in question and that the entity or person was bound to act with reasonable care. Then, you must show that the breach of that obligation occurred. This is usually done through the use of expert testimony who can provide an objective analysis and evaluation of the situation.

This expert witness will determine if the defendant's actions fell below the accepted standard of care in the particular case. The expert will need to review your medical records, and interview or cross-check you in order to make this determination.

You must be able to demonstrate that the breach directly caused your injury. Causation is the third factor in a malpractice claim. In the majority of cases, you will require an exact cause-and-effect link between the breach of duty and the subsequent injury. For instance, a wrong diagnosis could lead to the wrong medication or treatment being prescribed and could result in an adverse reaction like heart attacks.

Breach of Duty

Physicians, like all other people, have a legal obligation to conduct themselves with reasonable care and be cautious. However, doctors are held to a higher standard because they are medical experts who make life and death decisions. The obligation of care can be found in the regulations and laws for specific kinds of treatments and procedures.

One of the first things that must be established in a negligence case is that the defendant was bound by a duty of care to the plaintiff. It must be established that the defendant breached this obligation of care. This means that the doctor failed to meet the standards of care for the situation. The standard of care is typically determined by what a normal person would do under similar situations. A reasonable driver, for instance would not use the traffic light.

In a case of negligence, experts are usually needed to testify on the standard of care and the way in which it was violated. They can also describe how the injury was caused and what could be done to prevent it from happening.

Damages

In the United States, physicians are required to carry malpractice insurance in order to protect against potential damages that could result due to medical negligence. To submit a claim for damages, the plaintiff must show actual financial losses (such as medical expenses and lost wages) as well as non-economic losses (such as suffering and pain).

The amount of compensation you receive from a successful malpractice suit depends on how well your New York medical malpractice attorney defends your losses. Your attorney can establish the medically necessary expenses by examining your medical records, using expert testimony and consulting economic experts. In order to prove your loss of earnings your medical malpractice lawyer has to show the number of times you were off work due to medical condition and also the fact that the absences were due to the defendant's negligence.

Non-economic losses can be more difficult to prove and may require the help of a professional who will be able to testify about your physical, emotional, and mental distress as a result of the infractions committed by the defendant. Loss of consortium is another type of non-economic damage. This is the inability to have an intimate, sexual relationship with your spouse or any other significant person like you once did. The attorney representing the defendant will challenge your non-economic damages through a process of interrogatories, depositions and requests for statements and documents under oath.

Statute of limitations

Like every state, New York has a statute of limitations that must be fulfilled before a medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed. Otherwise the court will decide to dismiss the case. A New York medical malpractice lawyers malpractice attorney who is skilled will be aware of the nuances of these deadlines, and will ensure that your claim is filed before the deadlines specified by law.

In most cases, the victim of medical negligence is required to be able to file a lawsuit within two and a half years of the date that the act or omission committed by medical professionals caused injury or death. As with all laws this one is not without exceptions. For instance in the event that the error of the health care provider was part of a continuous course of treatment, the 30 month legally required "clock" will not start until that course of treatment is complete or the patient learns of the diagnosis.

In some cases the patient may not be aware of the issue until a long time after for instance, if a foreign body is left in the body following surgery or treatment. In order to solve this issue, medical malpractice lawyer the majority of states have adopted the discovery rule. This permits injured victims in certain circumstances to extend their timeframes. Your attorney will be aware specific rules of your state and carefully look over your case's timeline in order to avoid administrative errors that could impede your claim.