Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Medical professionals must meet an ethical standard when treating their patients. If a medical professional is not able to meet this standard, and if the failure causes injury or complications for the patient, there may be grounds for a malpractice lawsuit.

A successful malpractice case could help to pay for medical expenses, reimburse lost wages, as well as acknowledge pain and discomfort. However, medical malpractice lawsuits are often complicated.

Misdiagnosis

The misdiagnosis of a patient is among the most common medical malpractice claims. This type of claim is typically filed by a healthcare provider who misdiagnoses an injury or illness of a patient. For example, a physician may diagnose a patient with pneumonia when the patient in fact has staph infection. A misdiagnosis can have grave consequences for the patient, including death.

According to medical malpractice insurance companies, diagnosis-related malpractice claims account for 9 percent (obstetrics) and 61% (pediatrics) of their total claims. Medical malpractice claims are comparatively small and could be biased towards more serious mistakes. Claimants are typically shut down or not paid and a lot of good mistakes are not likely to result in the filing of a malpractice lawsuit.

A plaintiff must prove that, in order to be successful in a case for medical malpractice, that the doctor didn't follow the standard of care when diagnosing the condition. A plaintiff's attorney must also prove that the doctor's mistake resulted in injury.

The litigation process in a medical malpractice lawsuit is time-consuming, costly and emotionally charged. Although the majority of medical malpractice cases settle out of court, the attorneys for both parties and expert witnesses have to spend time and money on negotiations, discovery, and trial preparation. In addition, doctors are often required to pay for their malpractice insurance premiums as the claims process progresses. These costs have led some to call for tort reform which would reduce the cost and speed up settlements.

Treatment Errors

When you visit a physician or hospital to receive treatment, you are expected to receive medical treatment that conforms to the accepted standards of practice in your area. This includes a thorough diagnosis, a reasonable treatment plan and adequate follow-up in order to ensure that your health improves. But mistakes made by doctors, nurses or other medical personnel can be serious and cause permanent injuries or even death.

These errors can take many forms. For example an employee of a hospital might misread a patient's chart and give the wrong medication. This type of error is most common in emergency rooms, where staff are under pressure and time is limited. This can also happen if doctors treat a condition which is outside their expertise.

Other types of errors include prescribing incorrect medications or giving patients a wrong dosage that causes injury. These errors can be made by doctors, nurse practitioners as well as pharmacists, physician assistants and optometrists. These errors can also include a failure to recommend or medical malpractice lawsuit prescribe the required follow-up treatment to rectify the error.

Errors in the prescription process can cause various serious injuries. For example, taking an unapproved blood thinner that's specifically designed for heart patients could cause a bleeding disorder or result in stroke. If you have suffered an injury or lost a loved one to a medical mistake, it is crucial to consult with a skilled New York medical malpractice lawyer to determine whether you can seek compensation.

Negligence

Negligence can result of medical professionals not adhering to accepted standards. This can happen in a variety of settings such as hospitals, doctor's office, therapy clinics and nursing homes. If a doctor does not adhere to these guidelines and the patient suffers permanent harm it could be necessary to compensate for this harm.

To win a malpractice claim the party who was injured has to establish that the doctor's failure in professional duties led to his or her injuries. This is known as causation and is a crucial element of the legal standard. The breach must be a direct cause of the injury, and the damage must be quantifiable.

In cases of medical malpractice, a plaintiff's lawyer must also convince the juror that it is more likely than not that the physician's actions or medical malpractice lawsuit inactions contributed to the damages sought. This can be challenging because people's memories aren't always crystal clear or are in the hands of the other side.

It is also essential that the lawyer has a deep knowledge of the medical profession and how it operates. This understanding can help show that the breach of professional duty was a direct cause of the patient's injuries. Medical malpractice cases can be filed in federal or state courts, and often require expert witnesses to explain the standard of care that was not met.

Punitive Damages

We tend to assume that we can trust medical professionals to treat us with competence and care. A mistake can lead to serious injuries, or even death. If those errors result in wrongful death, the victims and their families may be entitled to compensation for damages they've suffered.

The wrongful death case can involve claims against hospitals, doctors, nurses, physical therapists pharmacists, diagnostic imaging technicians, and even manufacturers of medical equipment. Since multiple parties could be responsible it is often recommended for victims to claim against all of them while working with their New York medical malpractice lawyers to identify which individuals or companies should be sued.

Punitive damages aim to punish the defendant for their conduct and discourage them from repeating their actions in the future. As opposed to compensatory damages that are intended to address specific harms they can be applied to a whole class of people and they are typically reserved for cases of extreme misconduct.

The first category of damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit is reimbursement for actual financial losses, including medical costs and lost wages. Your New York medical negligence lawyer can assist you in determining the amount of your losses by presenting expert testimony on what constitutes a violation of the standard of care in the case's location and specialization. This is an essential step, because without the evidence you require to prove your claim, it may be dismissed during the preliminary hearing.