What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical malpractice claim involves the patient complaining of carelessness of a healthcare worker. The patient (or his or her estate if the patient has passed away) must show that the negligence caused injury or harm.

Legal actions claiming medical malpractice are usually filed in state trial courts. In order to win a lawsuit the aggrieved party has to prove four elements of law:

Duty of care

In any legal case the plaintiff must show that another person or entity had a legal obligation to care and failed to perform this duty. In medical malpractice cases this is the obligation of medical professionals to provide the appropriate standard of care for their patients. This is usually determined through expert testimony.

Expert witnesses can help determine proper standards for medicine and then show the ways in which a physician has deviated from these standards in treating patients. A lawyer for a plaintiff's claim for medical malpractice needs to demonstrate that the deviation caused the victim's injuries.

Expert testimony is essential, as jurors are often unfamiliar with anatomy and watched a number of medical dramas. In the case of medical malpractice it is crucial because it can be difficult to establish the standards of care. In the context of medical malpractice law Firms malpractice cases, the standard of care refers to the skill level in the treatment, its quality and degree of diligence possessed by other doctors with similar specialties in similar situations.

Typically, medical malpractice law firms experts in medical malpractice cases are fellow physicians or surgeons who have the same training and board certifications. Due to the "conspiracy of silence" among a number of doctors (a term lawyers use to describe the tendency of doctors to not be able to testify against each other), it is often difficult to find an expert with the right qualifications to defend a colleague against sub-standard care.

Breach of duty

Medical malpractice occurs when a physician makes an error that hurts the patient. Those mistakes can cause new injuries or make preexisting ones worse. Medical malpractice claims are difficult to prove since they are based on complicated laws and issues. However, a reputable medical malpractice lawyer will analyze the facts of your case and determine if a doctor has violated his or her duty to the patient.

Your attorney will determine if there was a doctor-patient connection between you and your physician, which is necessary for any malpractice claim. Your attorney will also examine your physician's actions and decisions to determine if they meet what is referred to as the standard of care for doctors of similar education, background and geographical location within your state.

Physicians are required by their patients to adhere to these guidelines without deviation or omission. A breach of duty means that the doctor failed to meet your expectations and caused you injury.

It is easy to prove an infraction of duty by using experts and your attorney's research. These experts can testify that the doctor's actions didn't meet the standard of medical treatment and explain why another medical professional would have behaved differently in similar circumstances. Your lawyer should also tie the breach of duty to your injuries and damages. Your lawyer will examine your medical records, test results, prescriptions and imaging scans to build an argument that the breach of duty committed by your physician directly led to your injuries.

Causation

Medical errors can increase the risks of most treatments. To prove causation, an injured patient must establish an unambiguous connection between the alleged negligence of a doctor and their injuries. In many cases, expert testimony is required and the assistance of a medical malpractice lawyer.

For instance, misdiagnosing a condition or a serious disease is a common error. A doctor's inability to recognize cancer or any other illness may have serious implications for the patient. In this situation the patient may suffer unneeded suffering, or even death. In failing to recognize the problem correctly, the doctor may have committed malpractice.

Proving that a medical professional or hospital did not treat you properly can be difficult and time-consuming. The evidence needed may include a variety of sources, including medical records and test results, as and expert witness testimony and oral depositions. Your attorney can help you gather and interpret the evidence and also assist you during the deposition process.

It is also important to remember that only healthcare professionals is liable for malpractice. Contrary to receptionists at medical facilities, doctors and nurses must act in accordance to the standard of care. Medical professionals should be able to predict the outcome based on their education and experience.

Damages

In medical malpractice cases, the judges will hear about monetary compensations designed to help injured patients. The damages may include future or past medical bills, loss of wages or income, pain and disfigurement, or loss of enjoyment of living. In some cases, punitive damages are awarded in some cases. They are reserved for egregious acts that society wants to deter.

A medical malpractice case starts by filing in the court of an administrative summons. Then, the parties engage in discovery, which is a process in which the plaintiff and defendants are required to make disclosures under swearing. This can include seeking medical records or other documents, taking depositions of parties involved in a lawsuit, and interviewing witnesses.

One of the primary elements to prove in a medical malpractice case is that the doctor was under a legal duty to provide care and treatment to the patient. The second part is that the doctor breached this duty by failing to adhere the medical standard of practice. The third factor is whether the breach resulted in injury to the patient.

It is important to know that the statutes of limitations (the legally-required time frame within which an action for medical malpractice must be filed) differ from state states. In New York, the statute of limitations is two years and six months (30 months) from the date on which the act that led to medical malpractice attorney malpractice occurred.