What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical malpractice lawsuit is brought by the patient who complains about the carelessness of a healthcare professional. The patient (or his or her estate should the patient die) must prove that the negligence led to injury or harm.

In general, lawsuits claiming medical negligence are filed in state trial courts. The patient who is suffering from the injury must prove four legal elements to prevail in the case:

Duty of care

In any legal action in any legal matter, the plaintiff must prove that a person or entity was liable to them for a duty of care and failed to fulfill this obligation. In the case of medical negligence, it is the duty of a doctor to provide the right standard of care for their patients. This is usually determined through expert testimony.

Expert witnesses can help determine the proper medical standards and then explain how a doctor deviated from those standards in their treatment of the patient. A medical malpractice lawyer for a plaintiff must then show that this deviation was directly responsible for the victim's injury.

Expert testimony is vital because jurors are usually unfamiliar with anatomy and watched a lot medical dramas. In medical malpractice claims this is crucial since it can be difficult to establish the appropriate standard of care. In a medical malpractice lawsuit, the standard refers to the level of skill quality of care, as well as the level of care that other doctors with similar specialties possess in similar circumstances.

The majority of experts in medical malpractice claims are surgeons or fellow doctors with similar training and board certifications. Due to the "conspiracy of silence" among many doctors (a term lawyers use to describe the tendency of doctors not to testify against one another), it can be challenging to find an expert with the qualifications to be a witness against a colleague for sub-standard care.

Breach of duty

Medical malpractice occurs when a physician makes an error that hurts the patient. These mistakes can cause new injuries or make existing ones worse. Medical malpractice claims involve complex issues and laws, which makes them difficult to prove. A reputable medical malpractice lawyer will evaluate your case to determine if the doctor has violated their obligation to you.

Your attorney will prove that there was a doctor-patient relationship between you and your physician which is necessary for any malpractice claim. Your attorney will examine your physician's decisions and actions to determine if the standard of care in your state for doctors who have similar training, background and geographical location is in place.

Physicians have a duty to respect the standards set forth by their patients without deviation or omission. A breach of duty means that the physician did not meet your expectations and this failure resulted in injury.

Proving the breach of duty typically straightforward with the help of the research of your attorney and expert witnesses. Experts can prove that the doctor's actions did not meet the standard of medical treatment and also explain why another medical professional would have behaved differently in similar circumstances. Your lawyer must also connect the breach of duty to your injuries and damages. Your lawyer will look over your medical documents, test and prescription results, imaging scans, and prescriptions to build solid evidence that the breach of duty committed by your doctor directly led to your injuries.

Causation

Most treatments carry a degree of risk, but medical errors can add to those risks. To prove the cause of malpractice in a claim the patient who has been injured must prove a direct connection between the negligence alleged and their injuries. In many cases, expert testimony is required and the assistance from an attorney who specializes in medical malpractice.

For example, misdiagnosing a condition or a serious illness is a common error. If a doctor fails to recognize cancer or any other illness can have severe consequences for the patient. In this case the patient could be suffering in pain that is not needed and could even die. The doctor could have committed a malpractice by not properly diagnosing the condition.

Proving that your doctor, or hospital did not treat you properly is a lengthy and difficult process. The evidence needed could include a variety of sources, including medical reports and test results, as in addition to expert testimony from witnesses and oral depositions. Your lawyer can assist you find and Scottsboro Medical Malpractice Law Firm interpret the evidence and also assist you during the deposition process.

It is important to note that only healthcare professionals can be sued for malpractice. In contrast to receptionists in scottsboro medical Malpractice attorney centers nurses and doctors are expected to act in accordance with prevailing standards of care. This means that medical professionals should be able to anticipate the consequences from their skills and education.

Damages

In medical malpractice cases, malpractice courts will hear about monetary compensations that are meant to pay injured patients. These damages could include past and future medical bills, lost wages, the disfigurement caused by pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. Punitive damages can be awarded in certain circumstances. They are reserved for the most egregious of actions that society would like to deter.

A pooler medical malpractice attorney malpractice case begins by filing in court of an administrative summons. The parties will then proceed to discovery. This is a procedure which requires the plaintiff and defendants to give statements under oath. This could involve requesting documents like medical records, taking depositions of parties involved in a lawsuit as well as interviewing witnesses.

In a medical malpractice case it is crucial to prove that the doctor was legally bound to provide treatment and medical care to the patient. The second element to establish is that the doctor breached that duty by failing to adhere to the medical standard of care. The third factor is that the breach resulted in harm to the patient.

It is vital to be aware that the statutes of limitations (the legally-defined time period within which a lawsuit for medical malpractice must be filed) differ from state to state. In New York, there is a statute of limitations of two years and six month (30 months) following the date of the medical malpractice.