How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

A patient who believes that they suffered a loss as a result of an error made by a healthcare provider may file a lawsuit for medical malpractice. These cases differ from typical personal injury claims in that they rely on a professional standard of care to determine negligence.

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

Duty of care

A doctor, surgeon or any other health professional has a duty of care to their patients. This legal concept states that anyone who is a health professional treating you must adhere to the accepted medical practice.

The medical standard of care is the legal benchmark against which all medical malpractice claims are judged. It is crucial to a successful lawsuit, because it provides a specific way for the injured party and his or her attorney to prove negligence by showing that a health care professional did not meet the standards of care.

A medical expert with a degree is usually required to establish this standard of care. These experts are crucial in establishing the standard of medical care applicable to the particular case, and the extent to which defendants have did not meet the standard.

Additionally it is essential to establish that the breach of duty resulted in your injury or illness. In the case of medical malpractice, damages can include hospital bills, lost income, future earning capacity, suffering, pain, and even punitive damage. Your lawyer will have to prove the amount of damages that you are entitled to, which could be higher than your initial medical expenses. This is less difficult in some cases than others. A lot of doctors work in hospitals that give them staff privileges, and in those situations, a physician's employer may be held responsible through theories of vicarious liability.

Breach of duty

A physician owes the patient an obligation to act in accordance with the medical standards of care when providing services or treatment. If a patient is injured by a doctor's negligence can bring a malpractice lawsuit.

Medical negligence can encompass a wide range actions, including mistakes in diagnosis, dose of medication, health management, treatments and post-care. A lawsuit is valid if the plaintiff is able to demonstrate four legal elements. These include:

The first step is to ensure there will be a trusting relationship between the doctor and patient. The doctor must be bound by a duty to inform the patient of any potential risks or complications involved in the procedure. Even if the procedure was executed correctly, the doctor could be held accountable for negligence in the event they fail to warn the patient. For instance, if a doctor failed to inform patients that a particular procedure had a 30-percent chance of losing limbs, a patient might not reasonably have consented to the procedure.

The other element to be proved is a breach of the standard of care. To show that the doctor did not follow from the norm, the lawyer will require an expert witness testimony. It must also be established that the breach of standard of care resulted in the patient's injuries.

It can take a long time to complete medical negligence claims in the court system, which includes a great deal of physician and attorney time, a thorough review of records, interviewing experts and conducting research into medical and legal literature. A physician who is the subject of a malpractice suit will have to pay high court fees including attorney costs, work products, as well as expenses for expert testimony.

Causation

All healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers are human and have the potential to make mistakes. If those errors rise to the level of medical malpractice, patients suffer grave and life-altering injuries. It takes the expertise of both lawyers and doctors to prove that a healthcare provider has acted negligently in duty and caused harm. A successful claim requires four legal elements to prove that include a doctor-patient relationship and the duty of the doctor to care to the patient, the breach of that duty, and the injury that resulted from the breach.

The injury must be proven to be resulted from the doctor's deviation from the standard of medical care. This is a higher legal standard than "beyond reasonable doubt" in criminal cases. The plaintiff's lawyer must convince the jury/fact-finder that it is more likely that the negligence of the doctor caused the injury.

A medical expert witness is usually 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 field of accused malpractice are permitted to provide expert testimony. This is the reason that selecting an expert in medical practice that is competent is important in a malpractice case.

Damages

A medical malpractice lawsuit aims to collect damages, which include future and past expenses resulting from an injury. These expenses could include hospital bills, doctor's visits, pain and discomfort, and lost wages. The jury will decide on the amount of damages to be awarded according to the evidence presented.

During the trial, the lawyer or plaintiff must prove four main legal elements: (1) a physician had a professional obligation to them; (2) the doctor violated that duty by acting negligently; (3) the doctor's negligence caused injuries; and (4) the injuries caused by negligence resulted in damages. A doctor's performance is not a violation if you are dissatisfied with it. But there need to be an injury. An expert in medical practice can determine whether a doctor has strayed from the standard of treatment.

The legal process for a malpractice claim may last for a long time, with a lot of time spent in "discovery," which involves the exchange of documents and lawyers statements made under oath by parties involved in the case. Although many cases are settled prior to reaching the courtrooms, a portion of these claims go all through to an appeal to a jury and a verdict.

In an effort to cut litigation costs, some states have taken a variety of administrative and legislative steps, collectively referred to as tort reform measures, to reduce liability for negligence. In addition, some states have implemented alternative dispute resolution procedures like binding arbitration that is voluntary. These alternatives to civil litigation are designed to lower litigation costs, expedite the handling and resolution of malpractice claims, reduce the number of generous juries, and filter out claims that are not worth the effort.