Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice lawyer aids injured victims receive compensation for their losses. The legal system that governs medical malpractice cases is built on common law.

Under common law, doctors are required to adhere to a certain standard of care when treating patients. If a doctor does not adhere to accepted medical procedures and results in injury or death then he could be held accountable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals are expected to follow a set of standards that are accepted by the medical profession as being reasonable and prudent in providing medical malpractice law firm treatment. When those standards are not met and that failure causes harm or health issues the patient may be able to sue for medical malpractice lawsuit.

The first part of a malpractice claim is to establish that you had a doctor-patient relationship with the healthcare provider and that the entity or person had a legal obligation to act in a reasonable manner. Then, you have to prove that the breach of that obligation occurred. This is typically done with the recourse to expert witnesses who can provide an objective analysis and assessment of the case.

The expert witness will determine if the defendant's actions were below the standard of care that is accepted in your particular circumstance. The expert will look over your medical records and also interview or question you to arrive at this conclusion.

You must also show that the breach directly led to your injury. This is known as causation and it is the third component of a malpractice claim. In most instances, you'll need to have an exact cause-and-effect link between the breach of duty and the subsequent injury. A misdiagnosis, for example, could lead to prescribing the wrong medicine or treatment being given. This can cause an adverse reaction, such as heart attacks.

Breach of Duty

Like everyone else medical professionals, doctors are under a legal obligation to act with diligence and care. Doctors are held to higher standards however, since they are medical experts who make life-or-death decisions. The obligation of care can be found in laws and standards for certain types of treatments and procedures.

One of the primary elements that must be proven in a negligence case is that the defendant owed a duty to care to the plaintiff. Then, it has to be proved that the defendant did not fulfill that duty of care. This means that the doctor failed to adhere to the standard of care in the particular situation. The standard of care is typically defined by what an average person would do under similar circumstances. A reasonable driver, for example would not use at a traffic light.

In a lawsuit involving a malpractice, expert witnesses may be needed to testify on the standard of care that was not met and the manner in which this standard was violated. They can also describe the reason behind the injury and suggest ways to have prevented it.

Damages

Physicians in the United States are required to carry malpractice insurance to cover the potential losses that could result from medical negligence. To be able to file a claim the plaintiff must show both financial losses (such medical expenses and lost wages) in addition to noneconomic losses (such suffering and pain).

The amount of compensation received from a successful malpractice lawsuit is contingent on how your New York medical malpractice law firms malpractice lawyer makes the case for your losses. Your attorney can establish the medically required costs by looking over your medical records, utilizing expert testimony, and consulting economic experts. Your medical malpractice attorney must prove that you lost your earnings by proving the number of days that you missed from work due to medical issues, and that these days were due to the defendant’s negligence.

Non-economic damages are more difficult to prove. You may need the assistance of an expert witness who can describe your physical, mental, and emotional pain as directly resulting from the defendant's negligence. Loss of consortium is a different type of non-economic damage. This is the inability of having an intimate relationship with your spouse, or any other significant individual as you used to. The lawyer for the defendant will attempt to challenge your non-economic damages by interrogatories, depositions, and requests for statements and documents under the oath.

Statute of limitations

In New York, as with every state, there are certain deadlines - commonly referred to as statutes of limitations - within which a medical negligence lawsuit must be filed or otherwise it could be dismissed by the courts. A New York medical malpractice attorney who has experience will be familiar with the nuances of these deadlines, and will ensure that your claim is filed before the deadlines set forth by law.

In the majority of cases, victims of medical malpractice must bring a lawsuit within two and a half years from the date on which the act or omission of a health care provider caused the injury or death. As with all laws, this one is not without exceptions. For instance in the event that the error made by the health care professional was part of a continuous course of treatment, the 30 month legally required "clock" will not start until the treatment is complete or the patient learns of the diagnosis.

Additionally, in certain instances such as when a foreign object is left within the body following surgery or treatment, it might not be possible for a patient's to recognize the issue until much later. In order to address this issue, the majority of states have adopted what is known as the discovery rule. This permits injured victims in certain circumstances to extend their deadlines. Your attorney will know the specific rules in your state and will carefully go over the timeline of your case to avoid administrative errors which could cause delays to your claim.