How to File a medical malpractice attorney Malpractice Case

A patient who finds that an object foreign to her like surgical clamps, remains inside her body after gall bladder surgery can bring a medical malpractice lawsuit. A successful lawsuit must prove the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviation from this duty, direct cause, and Medical Malpractice Lawsuits injury.

It is important for our clients to establish a direct connection between the breach of duty and the harm, known as proximate causation.

Causes of Injury

A medical malpractice claim can be filed by the person who was injured or an attorney. Based on the specific circumstances, this could be a spouse of the patient or an adult child parent, guardian ad litem, or the executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased patient. In a medical negligence case the defendant is the health care provider. This could be a doctor, nurse or therapist, or any other health professional.

Expert testimony is usually required in cases of malpractice. Medical experts must be able to prove whether or whether the health professional followed the standard of care for their particular field. They also have to testify to the harm caused by the actions or inactions of a doctor.

Injuries resulting from malpractice and negligence can be very severe. For example, a misdiagnosis of a health problem could result in life-threatening consequences. Other kinds of injuries be caused by operating on an incorrect body part or leaving surgical instruments inside the patient.

In order to prove a malpractice case the patient must demonstrate four legal elements: a duty the doctor owed to them; a breach in this duty; a resultant injury and damages. In some states, like New York, the law places a limit on the amount of money that can be awarded for an action for malpractice.

Causation

The injury element, also known as causation is one of the most important elements of medical malpractice cases. To establish causation, the plaintiff must prove that they suffered their injury on the balance of probabilities as a result of the negligence of the doctor. This can be a challenging job due to a variety of reasons.

A lot of the injuries that form the basis of medical negligence lawsuits result from long-term illnesses or conditions which were present before treatment began. Often, the statute of limitations for a medical negligence claim is extended over a period of years, and the injuries may develop slowly.

In these cases the proof that a medical professional's failure to adhere to the standard of care that led to the injury is not easy. However, the person who was harmed may be able to use evidence gathered by the attorney, including medical records and expert testimony.

During the discovery procedure that is part of the legal process prepping for a trial your lawyer can request the lawyers for the defendants be made aware of expert testimony and other documents. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit will be asked to give evidence during a deposition, which is testimony that is under oath. Your lawyer will be able to cross-examine doctor and challenge their findings. The jury will then decide if the plaintiff has established the essential elements of their claim, which includes the duty of care, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

The plaintiff must convince the jury, when filing a claim for medical malpractice, that it is more likely that the doctor violated his or her responsibilities as a physician and that those breaches resulted in injury. The plaintiff's attorney has to be able to prove this by utilizing evidence gathered during discovery. This includes the request of documents, including medical records, from all parties involved in a lawsuit. This process also includes sworn declarations that are recorded and used at trial.

A doctor has breached their professional obligation in the event that they did something an ordinary prudent doctor would not have done under the same circumstances. However it must be proven that the breach directly caused the injury to the patient. This is referred to as causation or causal proximate causes. For example when a patient is taken to the hospital for a hernia surgery and is later told that he or her gall bladder removed instead. This is medical negligence as the removal did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally-defined period of time, also known as the statute of limitations, which varies by state. The injured patient must establish that the substandard care resulted in injury, and then demonstrate the amount of compensation they are entitled to.

Damages

If medical negligence caused you to suffer a traumatic injury, you are entitled to be made whole. Scaffidi & Associates can help you get fair and complete compensation for your losses.

The first step in a lawsuit is to make a complaint and serve it, summons and other documents on all defendants. The parties engage in discovery. This is a procedure where documents and statements are made public under the oath. Medical records and medical malpractice Lawsuits the notes of the doctor are typically sought during discovery.

In most states, to be eligible for compensation for injuries incurred by malpractice, you need to prove four things including a duty of good faith that the healthcare provider is obligated to perform and a breach of that obligation; a causal connection between the breach and injury and damages resultant from the injury. If your attorney can establish all of these elements, then you've got an excellent case for financial recovery in a medical negligence claim.

In some cases the court can decide to award punitive damages. These are intended to penalize the culprit and deter others from engaging in the same conduct. However, this isn't the norm in medical malpractice cases, since courts require evident proof of malice in order to give these extraordinary awards.