How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

A patient who believes he has suffered a loss due to a health care provider's mistake can file a medical malpractice lawsuit. These lawsuits differ from the typical personal injury lawsuits in that they use a professional standard of care to determine the degree of negligence.

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

Duty of care

A surgeon, doctor or other health care professional owes a duty of care to their patients. This legal concept basically states that any health professional treating you owes an obligation to follow the accepted medical practices, without omission or deviation.

The medical standard of care is the legal benchmark against which all medical malpractice claims are judged. It is essential to a successful claim, because it allows for the injured person and his or attorney to prove negligence by proving that the health professional did not adhere to the standard of medical care.

A qualified medical malpractice attorney expert is usually required to establish this standard of care. They are essential in establishing the standard of medical care applicable to the case and also determining how defendants allegedly infringed on the law.

It is also essential to prove that the breach of duty was the cause of your injury, illness or death. In medical malpractice lawsuits damages could include hospital bills and lawsuits lost income future earning capacity, suffering, pain and even punitive damages. Your lawyer must establish the exact amount of these damages, lawsuits which could be more than your original medical expenses. This is less difficult in some situations than in other. There are many doctors who work in hospitals that provide them with staff privileges. In those situations, a physician's employer could be held liable by virtue of theories of vicarious liability.

Breach of duty

A physician is required for the patient to observe the medical standards of care when providing treatments or services. If a physician violates this obligation and causes injury the patient is injured, the patient may file a malpractice lawsuit.

Medical negligence can encompass a wide range of actions, including errors in diagnosis, dosage of medication, health management, treatment and post-treatment. A lawsuit must be valid if the plaintiff is able to prove four legal aspects. These are:

First, there must be a doctor-patient relationship. The physician has obligation to inform the patient of any potential risks or potential complications that could arise from the procedure. Even if the procedure is completed in a perfect manner, the doctor could be held accountable for their actions if they fail to inform the patient. For instance, if the doctor did not warn patients that a certain operation had a 30-percent chance of losing limbs, a patient could not reasonably have agreed to the surgery.

The second thing to be proved is an infraction to the standard of care. To establish that the doctor strayed from standard care, the lawyer will require expert witness testimony. It must also be established that the breach of standard of care caused the patient's injuries.

The court system can be slow in settling medical negligence cases. This is due to the fact that it requires a lot of time from both the physician and attorney, as well as extensive research and interviews with experts and a thorough review of legal and medical literature. A physician who is the subject of a malpractice suit will have to pay court fees that are high as well as attorney fees and work products, in addition to 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 negligence, patients can suffer severe and life-altering injuries. It requires the expertise of both lawyers and doctors to prove that a healthcare provider has acted negligently in duty and caused injury. A successful lawsuit must establish four legal elements: a physician-patient relationship; the medical professional's duty 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 direct and most likely cause of the injury. The legal standard for this factor is higher than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" required in criminal cases. The attorney representing the plaintiff must convince the jury or fact-finder that it is more than likely that negligence of the physician caused the injury.

Expert medical witnesses are typically required early in the process to establish all these elements. According to Rhode Island law only doctors with the right knowledge, experience and training in the area of the suspected malpractice are able to provide expert testimony. It is for this reason that selecting an expert in medical practice who is skilled is important in a malpractice case.

Damages

Medical malpractice lawsuits are designed to recover damages which include past and future expenses caused by an injury. The expenses could include hospital bills, doctor visits, suffering and pain, as well as lost wages. The amount of damages awarded is determined by the jury by the evidence presented.

During the trial, the plaintiff or their lawyer must establish four essential legal elements: (1) a physician owed them a professional duty; (2) the doctor violated that duty by acting negligently; (3) the doctor's negligence caused injury; and (4) the injury resulted in measurable damages. A doctor's performance is not a breach of professional standards if you're unhappy with it. However, there must be a repercussion. A professional witness can help to determine whether a physician has violated the standards of care.

The legal procedure for a malpractice claim may last for many years. This is because "discovery" involves the exchange of documents, and the sworn declarations of the parties involved. While a majority of cases settle before reaching the courtrooms, a portion of these cases go all through to an appeal to a jury and a verdict.

To limit liability for malpractice, some states have taken various administrative and legislative measures collectively known as tort reform. Additionally, a handful of states have implemented alternative dispute resolution methods such as voluntary binding arbitration. The aim of these alternative methods to civil litigation is to decrease litigation expenses and expedite the treatment of malpractice claims, by removing juries with excessively generous verdicts and screening out frivolous medical claims.