What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical negligence claim involves a patient who complains of carelessness by a healthcare worker. The patient (or the estate of the patient should the patient die) must show that the negligence led to injury or harm.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are typically filed in state trial courts. To prevail in a lawsuit, the aggrieved party has to demonstrate four legal elements:

Duty of care

In any legal case, the plaintiff needs to demonstrate that an individual or entity owed them a duty of care, and they failed to meet that obligation. In the case of medical malpractice, this involves a physician's obligation to provide their patients with a proper standards of treatment. This is usually determined by expert testimony.

Expert witnesses can help determine the proper standards for medicine and then show how a doctor has deviated from these standards while treating a patient. A medical malpractice lawyer for a plaintiff must then prove that this deviation was directly at fault for the injury suffered by the victim.

Expert testimony is crucial because jurors are usually unfamiliar with anatomy and have seen a variety of medical dramas. This is especially important in medical malpractice claims as it is difficult to establish a proper standard of care. In a medical malpractice claim, the standard refers to the level of competence in the field, the quality of care provided and the level of care that other doctors in similar specialties possess in similar circumstances.

Experts in medical malpractice cases are typically surgeons or doctors with similar training and accreditation. Due to the "conspiracy of silence" among many doctors (a term lawyers employ to describe the tendency of doctors not to testify against one another) it is often difficult to find an expert with the right qualifications to defend a colleague against the care that is not up to par.

Breach of duty

If a doctor commits an error that causes harm to the patient, it is medical malpractice. These mistakes can lead to new injuries, or worsen existing ones. Medical malpractice claims are challenging to prove due to complicated laws and issues. An experienced medical malpractice attorney will investigate your case to determine if a doctor has violated their obligation to you.

Your attorney will establish a doctor-patient relationship between you and your physician which is required to prove a malpractice claim. Your attorney will look into your physician's decisions and actions to determine if the standard of care in your state for doctors with similar training, experience and geographical location is fulfilled.

Doctors owe it to their patients to adhere to these guidelines without deviation or omission. If they violate this duty, it means that the doctor failed to meet those expectations and that failure caused harm to you.

Proving the breach of duty usually simple with the help of your attorney's research and expert witnesses. Experts can testify to the reasons why the doctor's actions didn't meet the standard of care and explain how another medical professional in similar circumstances might have performed differently. Your lawyer must also connect the breach of duty to your injuries and damages. Your lawyer will review your medical records as well as test results, prescriptions and imaging scans to create a convincing case that your physician's breach of duty directly led to your injuries.

Causation

The majority of treatments carry a level of risk, but medical errors can exacerbate those dangers. To prove causality in a malpractice case an injured patient must establish a direct link between the alleged negligence and their injuries. In many instances this will require expert testimony and the help of a medical malpractice lawyer.

Medical errors can be the misdiagnosis of serious ailments or illnesses. A doctor's failure to diagnose cancer, or any other condition can have severe consequences for the patient. In this situation the patient may suffer excessive suffering, and even die. The doctor could have committed a mistake by not diagnosing the problem properly.

Finding out if your doctor or hospital did not treat you properly isn't easy and takes a lot of time. Evidence may come from a number of sources, including medical records and test results, as well as expert witness testimony and depositions. Your attorney can assist in obtaining and interpreting the evidence, as well being your advocate during the process of depositions.

It is also important to note that only healthcare professionals is liable for malpractice. Doctors and nurses, unlike receptionists in medical malpractice lawsuits centers, are expected to follow the current standards of medical care. That means that medical professionals should be able of predicting the outcomes from their skills and education.

Damages

In medical malpractice cases, courts will be hearing about financial compensations designed to pay compensation to injured patients. These damages may include future and past medical bills as well as lost wages, pain and suffering, disfigurement and loss of enjoyment of life. Punitive damages are granted in certain cases. These are reserved for criminal acts that society is trying to deter.

A medical malpractice lawsuit begins with the filing in court of a civil summons. The parties will then engage in discovery. It is a process where the plaintiff and defendants are required to give testimony under oath. This can include seeking medical records or other documents, taking depositions of parties who are involved in a lawsuit and interviewing witnesses.

In a claim for medical malpractice, it is important to prove that the physician was legally bound to provide care and treatment to the patient. The second aspect to establish is that the doctor did not fulfill the duty by failing to adhere to the medical standard of care. The third element is that the breach resulted in injury to the patient.

It is important to note that the statute of limitations (the legally-defined period within which a medical malpractice claim must be filed) differs from state to state. In New York, the statute of limitations is two years and six months (30 months) from the date which the act that led to medical malpractice took place.