Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Medical professionals must adhere to the highest standards of care when they care for their patients. If a health-care provider fails to adhere to this standard and that failure causes injury or complications for the patient, there may be grounds for a malpractice claim.

A successful malpractice case can aid in the payment of medical expenses as well as recoup lost wages and acknowledge pain and suffering. However, medical malpractice claims can be complicated.

Misdiagnosis

Misdiagnosis is one of the most frequently filed medical malpractice claims. This type of case typically involves a healthcare provider incorrectly diagnosing a patient with an illness or injury. For instance, a physician might diagnose a patient as having pneumonia, but the patient actually suffers from staph. A mistake can have serious consequences, such as death.

According to medical malpractice insurers the diagnosis-related malpractice claims make up for 9 percent (obstetrics) and 61% (pediatrics) of their total claims. Medical malpractice claims data are limited and could be biased towards more severe mistakes. Furthermore, many claims fall through or are dismissed without being paid, and many meritorious errors are not a cause for malpractice lawsuit.

To succeed in bringing a medical malpractice claim, the plaintiff must prove that the doctor did not follow the standard of care when diagnosing the condition. A plaintiff's lawyer must also demonstrate that the doctor's error directly caused injury.

The litigation process in medical malpractice cases can be expensive as well as time-consuming and emotionally charged. While the majority of medical malpractice cases are settled outside of court attorneys and expert witnesses are required to invest time and money on discovery, negotiations and trial preparation. In addition, physicians are often required to pay the malpractice insurance premiums while the claims process is in progress. These costs have prompted some to advocate for reforms to tort law that will lower the cost and promote more timely settlements.

Treatment Errors

When you visit a physician or hospital to receive treatment, you are expected to receive medical care that complies with the customary guidelines of practice in your local area. This includes proper diagnosis and treatment, a reasonable course of treatment and adequate follow-up to ensure that your health improves. But mistakes made by doctors, nurses and other medical professionals can be extremely serious and could cause permanent injuries or death.

These mistakes can take a variety of forms. A hospital staff member may not understand the chart of a patient and then administer the wrong medication. This kind of error usually occurs in emergency rooms where time is limited and medical malpractice attorneys overworked staff members are pressured to provide fast service. It can also happen when a doctor is treating an illness that is not within their area of expertise.

Other types of mistakes include prescribing the wrong drugs or giving patients the wrong dosage that results in injuries. These mistakes can be made by nurse practitioners, doctors as well as pharmacists, physician assistants and optometrists. These mistakes can also be a result of failing to recommend or prescribe the necessary follow-up treatment to correct the error.

Incorrect medication can cause numerous serious injuries. For instance, taking the wrong blood thinner actually intended for heart patients can cause a bleeding disorder or result in stroke. If you or a loved one has been injured by an error in medical care it is recommended that you consult an experienced New York medical negligence lawyer for advice on whether you are able to claim compensation.

Negligence

When doctors or medical professionals fail to adhere to accepted standards of care, they could be guilty of negligence. This can occur in a variety of settings, including hospitals, doctor's offices, therapy clinics and nursing homes. If a physician fails to meet those guidelines and the patient is harmed for a long time it could be a requirement to pay compensation for that harm.

To prevail in a malpractice lawsuit the plaintiff must prove that the physician's negligence in performing his professional duties led to his or her injuries. This is known as causation, and it is a key part of the legal requirement. The breach must be the direct cause of the injury, and the damages must be quantifiable.

In the case of medical negligence an attorney for a plaintiff must also convince the juror that it is more likely than not that the physician's actions or inactions led to the damages sought. This can be challenging since people's memories may not be always clear, or they are dependent on the arguments of the other side.

It is important that the lawyer is aware of how the medical profession operates. This knowledge can be used to show that the breach in professional duties led to the patient's injury. Medical malpractice cases can be filed in federal or state courts, Medical Malpractice Attorneys and often require an expert witness to provide the standard of care that was not met.

Punitive Damages

We are often conditioned to believe that we can trust medical professionals to treat us with expertise and care. However, serious mistakes can happen that can cause life-long injuries or even death. If the errors result in an unintentional death, the victims and their families could be entitled to compensation for the losses they've suffered.

The wrongful death case can involve claims against hospitals, doctors nurses, physical therapists pharmacists diagnostic imaging technicians and even medical equipment. It's important to sue all parties involved, since multiple parties may be responsible. Victims should consult their New York medical negligence lawyers to determine which people or companies are accountable.

Punitive damages seek to penalize the defendant for their actions and prevent them from repeating the same mistake in the future. Unlike compensatory damages, which are designed to target specific harms however, punitive damages can be applied to a broad class of people, and they are typically reserved for extreme misconduct.

The first category of damages in medical malpractice lawsuits is the reimbursement of actual financial losses, including medical costs and lost wages. Your New York medical malpractice lawyer can help you establish the amount of your losses by presenting an expert's opinion on what constitutes a breach of standard of care in the area of your case and in the field of specialization. This is an important step because without this evidence, your case could be denied at the preliminary hearing level.