How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

A patient who believes he or she has suffered a loss because of the negligence of a healthcare provider can file a medical malpractice lawsuit. These cases differ from personal injury lawsuits since they employ a professional standard to determine negligence.

In the United States, malpractice claims are resolved through state trial courts. Each state has its own laws and procedures.

Duty of care

A surgeon, doctor or nurse or any other health professional, owes their patients a duty of care. The law states that any health care professional treating you has a duty to uphold the accepted medical practices, without omission or deviation.

The medical standard of care is a legal metric by which any medical malpractice claim is evaluated. It is vital to a successful case, because it offers a means for the injured person and his or attorney to demonstrate negligence by proving that a health professional did not meet the standards of treatment.

Proving this standard of care often requires the help of a medical expert witness. These experts are crucial in setting the standards of care applicable to the particular case, and medical malpractice the extent to which defendants have infringed on the standard.

It is also necessary to show that this breach of duty was the cause of your injury, illness, or death. In medical malpractice attorney malpractice cases, damages typically include hospital bills, loss of income and earning capacity in addition to pain and suffering, diminished quality of life and even punitive damages. Your lawyer will need to demonstrate the amount of damages you are entitled to, which can be higher than your original medical expenses. This is a little easier in certain instances than in other. There are many doctors who work in hospitals that provide them with staff privileges. In these instances, a doctor's employer could be held liable via theories of vicarious liability.

Breach of duty

A physician has the duty of acting in accordance to medical standards of care when delivering services or treatment. If a patient is injured due to negligence of a doctor can bring a malpractice lawsuit.

Medical negligence can refer to various actions, for example, errors in diagnosis, dosage of medication and health management, treatment and post-care. In order for a lawsuit to be valid the plaintiff must show four legal elements. These are the following:

First, there must be a doctor-patient relationship. The physician has an obligation to inform the patient of any potential risks or issues that may arise from the procedure. In the absence of this, it could render the doctor liable for negligence, even if a procedure was performed perfectly. For instance, if a doctor did not warn patients that a particular operation was likely to have a 30-percent chance of losing legs, the patient might not have reasonably consented to the surgery.

The next thing to be proved is a breach of the standard of care. To prove this, the lawyer has to have testimony from an expert witness to prove that the physician violated the standard of care. It must also be proved that the breach of standard of care caused the patient's injuries.

The court system isn't always quick to resolve medical negligence cases. This is due to the fact that it requires a long period of time by the physician and attorney, along with extensive research, interviews with experts, and a thorough review of legal and medical literature. Physicians who are facing a malpractice lawsuit is required to pay significant court fees, attorney's products and expenses, as well as expenses for expert testimony.

Causation

All healthcare professionals including doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers are humans and will make mistakes. When these mistakes reach the level of medical malpractice, patients suffer serious and life-threatening injuries. It requires both medical and legal expertise to establish that a health provider has acted in breach in duty that caused injury. A successful lawsuit must establish four legal elements: a physician-patient relationship; a physician's professional obligation to the patient; the doctor's breach of this obligation; and the injury that resulted from the breach.

It must also be established that the doctor's deviance from the standard of care was the primary and proximate cause of the injury. The legal standard for this element is higher than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" required in criminal cases. The plaintiff's lawyer must convince the jury/fact finder it is more likely than not that the doctor's actions were negligent and that negligence was a cause of the injury.

A medical expert witness is usually required early in the process to establish all of these factors. According to Rhode Island Medical Malpractice law only doctors who have the proper education, training and experience in the area of the accused malpractice are permitted to provide expert testimony. This is the reason that selecting an expert in medical practice that is competent is crucial in a case of malpractice.

Damages

A medical negligence lawsuit seeks to collect damages, which includes the past and future expenses associated with an injury. These costs could include hospital bills, doctor visits, the cost of suffering and wages. The jury will decide on the amount of damages awarded according to the evidence presented.

During the trial the plaintiff or their lawyer must prove four main legal elements: (1) a physician was obligated to perform a professional obligation; (2) the doctor did not fulfill this duty when he or she acted negligently; (3) the doctor's negligence caused injury; and (4) the injury caused damages that are quantifiable. Dissatisfaction with a physician's work is not a sign of malpractice, but an actual injury must be present. Medical experts can help determine if a physician has strayed from the standard of treatment.

The legal process for a malpractice case can last for several years, with lots of time spent in "discovery," which involves the exchange of documents and the statements made under oath by parties involved in the case. While many cases end up being settled before reaching the courtroom, a minority of these cases go all through to the jury trial and verdict.

To reduce the cost of litigation, a few states have adopted a number of legislative and administrative actions commonly referred to as tort reform measures to limit liability for malpractice. In addition, a few states have implemented alternative dispute resolution methods like voluntary binding arbitration. These alternatives to civil litigation are designed to cut down on litigation costs, expedite the handling and resolution of malpractice claims, avoid overly generous juries, and filter out claims that are frivolous.