How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds an object foreign to her body, such as surgical clamps in her body following gall bladder surgery is able to make a claim for medical negligence. A successful claim must establish the legal elements of medical Malpractice law Firm negligence: duty, deviation from this duty, direct causes, and injury.

It is crucial for our clients to establish a direct link between the breach of duty and the injury that is known as proximate causation.

Cause of Injury

A medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed by the person who has been injured or a person legally designated to represent them. Based on the specific circumstances, this could be the spouse of the patient, an adult child or parent, guardian ad-litem or executor or administrator of the estate of the patient who died. In a case of medical malpractice, the defendant is the health care provider. This could be a nurse, doctor, therapist or any other health care professional.

The majority of cases involving malpractice involve the testimony of experts. Medical experts are required to testify as to whether the health care provider performed his duties in accordance with the standard of medical care within their specific area of expertise. They also need to testify on injuries caused by physician's actions or inactions.

Accidents caused by negligence or mistakes can be devastating. A mistake in diagnosis can have devastating consequences, including the possibility of a life-threatening illness. Other types of injuries involve operating on the wrong body part or leaving surgical instruments inside the patient.

The patient must establish four legal elements in a malpractice case the duty owed to the patient by the doctor; a breach of this obligation; an injury resulting by the breach and the resulting damages. In some states such as New York the law limits the amount of money that can be awarded in a case of malpractice.

Causation

The element of injury is called the causation. It is one of the most crucial aspects in a medical malpractice attorney malpractice claim. To establish causation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that their injury was caused by the physician's negligence. This can be a difficult job due to various reasons.

For example, many injuries that are the subject of a medical malpractice lawsuit are the result of long-term or ongoing conditions that were already in the process of being treated prior to. The statute of limitations on a medical malpractice case can be extended over a period of time and the development of injuries can happen slowly.

In these instances, it is difficult to prove that a particular medical professional's violation of the standards of care caused the injury. The attorney could have collected evidence, such as medical records and medical malpractice law firm expert testimony that the injured person can use.

During the discovery process, which is a part of the legal procedure for preparing for a trial, your lawyer can request the defendants' lawyers disclose expert testimony and other documents. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit will be asked to give evidence during depositions, which are the testimony under oath. Your lawyer may cross-examine the doctor and contest the doctor's findings. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has proved the elements of the case including breach of duty, breach of contract and causation.

Negligence

The plaintiff must convince the jury, when filing a claim for medical malpractice to show that it is more than likely that the doctor did not fulfill his or her duties as physician and that the breaches resulted in injury. The plaintiff's lawyer must be able to prove this by utilizing evidence gathered during pretrial discovery. This involves requesting documents, including medical records, from all parties involved in a lawsuit. Depositions, wherein statements are made under oath, and recorded for use in trial, are also part of this procedure.

A doctor violated the professional duties of a doctor in the event that he or her did something that a reasonable prudent doctor would not do under the same circumstances. It must be established that the breach was the cause of the injury directly to the patient. This is known as causation or proximate cause. A patient could go to the hospital to have a hernia fixed, but instead end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice as the removal of the gall bladder was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a legal timeframe, also known as the statute of limitations. This varies from state to state. The patient who was injured must show that the inadequate treatment caused injury, medical malpractice law Firm then they have to prove the amount of compensation they deserve.

Damages

You deserve to be compensated for any injuries that you've suffered as a result of medical negligence. At Scaffidi & Associates, we can assist you in obtaining an adequate and fair amount of compensation for your losses.

The first step in a lawsuit is to make a complaint and serve it along with summons and other papers on all defendants. The parties then begin discovery, in which documents and statements are revealed under an oath. During discovery medical records and notes from a doctor are typically requested.

In many states, to get compensation for injuries caused through malpractice, you need to establish four elements 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 caused by the injury. If your lawyer can prove all of these elements, you can make a an argument for financial recovery in a medical malpractice case.

In certain instances the court might make punitive damages a possibility that is intended to penalize a wrongdoer and deter others from engaging in similar misconduct. However, this is not the norm in medical malpractice cases, since courts require specific proof of malice to give these extraordinary awards.