Medical Malpractice Litigation

Medical malpractice litigation is complex and time-consuming. Both plaintiffs and defendants are also required to pay a substantial cost.

In order to obtain an award of money in a malpractice lawsuit, the injured patient must prove that substandard medical care caused injury. This involves establishing four legal elements such as a professional obligation and breach of duty or breach, injury, and damages.

Discovery

The most important element of a case involving medical negligence is gathering evidence. This can be done through written interrogatories and requests for documents. Interrogatories contain questions that the opposing party must respond to under oath. They can be used for establishing facts to be presented in a trial. Requests for documents can be used to obtain tangible documents, such as medical records and test results.

In many instances, your lawyer will take the defendant physician's deposition that is a recorded question and answer session. This allows your attorney to ask the witness or doctor questions that might not have been allowed at trial. It can be extremely helpful in cases involving experts as witnesses.

The information gathered during pretrial discovery is used in trial to establish the following elements of your claim:

Breach of the standard of care

Injuries caused by a breach of the standards of care

Proximate cause

A doctor's inability to use the degree of competence and expertise of doctors in their area of specialty and that proximately resulted in injury to a patient

Mediation

Medical malpractice trials are essential, but they also have many disadvantages. For plaintiffs they are stressed, and the expense and the commitment to trial can result in a negative psychological impact on them. For health professionals who are defendants trials can result in humiliation and loss of credibility. It can also have detrimental consequences for their careers and practice since the financial payments they receive as part of a settlement prior to trial are reported to national databases for practitioners and to the state medical licensing body, and medical societies.

Mediation is a cost-effective and time-efficient way to resolve the medical malpractice case. Parties can negotiate more freely when they are not burdened by the expense of a trial, and the risk of juror verdicts to be eroded.

Both sides must provide brief details of the matter to the mediator prior to mediation (a "mediation short"). The parties typically let their communications go through their lawyer rather than directly between themselves at this point since direct communications could be used against them later in court. As the mediation progresses it is best to focus on the strengths of your case, and be prepared to recognize its weaknesses as well. This will enable the mediator to fill in any gaps and make you a reasonable offer.

Trial

Reformers of the tort system are seeking to create a system which compensates those who are injured due to negligence of a physician quickly and with minimal expense. While this isn't easy several states have implemented tort reform measures in order to lower the cost of medical malpractice claims.

The majority of doctors in the United States carry malpractice insurance to protect themselves against claims of professional negligence medical instances. Certain of these policies are required as a condition for hospital privileges or work in a medical group.

To be compensated for injuries caused by negligence by a medical professional, the patient who has suffered injury must prove that the doctor failed to meet the standards of care that is applicable to the profession in which they practice. This concept is known as proximate causes and is a key element in the medical malpractice claim.

A lawsuit begins by filing an civil summons and complaint in the court of your choice. After this is done each party must participate in an act of disclosure. This involves written interrogatories as well as the production of documents such as medical record. Depositions (in which attorneys question deponents under an oath) as well as requests for admission are also involved.

In a medical malpractice case the burden of proof is high. Damages are awarded based upon both economic losses (such as lost income or the cost of future medical treatments) and noneconomic damages like pain and discomfort. It is essential to work with a seasoned attorney when trying to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Settlement

Settlements are the most commonly used method to settle medical malpractice lawsuits. In general, the actual dollar value of a case is negotiated between the plaintiff and the defendants (often through or alongside the defendant's malpractice/professional liability insurer). The victim is awarded an amount of money, which is paid to the plaintiff's lawyer, who then deposits it into an account for escrow. The lawyer deducts expenses and legal costs as per the representation agreement, and pays the injured person payment.

To prevail in a medical malpractice lawsuit the patient must prove that a physician or other healthcare provider violated their duty of care by failing to demonstrate the required level of expertise and competence in their field. They must also show that the victim suffered harm because of the violation.

In the United States, there are 94 federal district courts which are similar to state trial courts. Each of these courts has an ad-hoc jury and judge panel which hears cases. In certain circumstances cases, medical negligence could be transferred to one of these federal district courts. Physicians in the United States typically carry medical malpractice insurance to protect themselves from claims of accidental harm or wrongdoing. Physicians should be aware of the nature and workings of our legal system to ensure that they can be able to react properly to any claim made against them.