Medical Malpractice Law

Medical malpractice cases are characterized by injuries resulting from a healthcare professional's negligence. There are different laws applicable to the cases, such as specific statutes of limitations and damages.

The term "malpractice" refers to situations where an individual is not treated with the same degree of care as other doctors would in similar situations. Examples of malpractice are misdiagnosis, birth injuries and surgical errors.

Complaint

Medical malpractice is a specific area of tort law which addresses professional negligence. It is defined as an act or omission committed by the doctor that goes against the accepted norms in the medical community that causes injury to a patient [22].

If you've been injured due to hospital negligence, your claim starts by filing a complaint in the civil court. In this document, you will state the main facts of your case. You also list the hospital, as well as the doctors who worked with you. Depending on the circumstances, you may want to agree upfront that any health professionals will not be identified individually in the lawsuit (this is called "no-name agreements").

Then you write down the injuries as well as the dollar value associated with each. This includes past and future medical expenses, income loss because of being unable to work or travel, pain and suffering, and any other losses you have endured as a consequence of the doctor's wrongful actions. It is imperative to give these documents to your attorneys promptly to allow them to begin an exhaustive review.

Summons

If you think you have suffered injuries from medical malpractice, you lawyer will prepare an order and complaint. They are then filed with the court. The clerk of the court then assigns a unique identifying code to the case. This number is referred to as an index number, and is used to track the case through the courts.

A lawsuit takes a lot of effort, time and money from the attorney for the plaintiff. These resources are needed to finance legal discovery as well as physician expert witnesses. Even even if a medical malpractice lawsuit fails, the attorney will still have invested lots of time and effort.

A lawsuit must prove that the health care professional violated the law, and this breach caused injury to the plaintiff and the injury is serious enough to warrant legal remedy. In the United States, a patient must prove four elements or legal requirements to be able to bring a valid medical malpractice claim to be considered a valid one: the existence of a duty; a breach of this duty; damages; and causation. Medical malpractice claims are subject to state law. However in certain situations the case can be transferred to a federal district courts.

Discovery

After a civil summons have been filed with the proper court, the formal discovery process begins. This is when your medical malpractice attorney will devote a lot of time trying to collect evidence in the case. This may include reviewing medical records using the services of a medical review company.

This is a crucial step in the legal process, since it can help your attorney discover vital evidence to support your claim. However, it's one of the longest parts of a medical malpractice lawsuit.

In the pretrial discovery phase your attorney will seek certain documents and interrogatories of the defendants in your case. The defendants will then have the opportunity to respond to these requests. These questions are oath-bound and you must respond to them honestly. These questions are used by defendants to make defenses against your case. This is why it is crucial to work with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer. They will ensure that all the required evidence is presented in a manner that is easy for juries and judges be able to comprehend.

Request for Admission

Before a medical malpractice lawsuits malpractice suit can be filed, many states require that the injured patient submit the case to a panel of medical experts who will listen to arguments and scrutinize evidence and expert testimony in order to determine if the patient's claim has enough merit to proceed. The law also requires that medical malpractice claims must be brought to the court within a specific time frame, referred to as the statute of limitations.

In order for a patient's legal team to pursue a medical malpractice claim, it must be shown that the medical professional failed to comply with the accepted standard of care in his or her specific field. This is also referred to as the standard of the care measurement. It is vital that the legal team representing the injured patient be aware of specific examples of deviations from the standard.

Trial

To prove malpractice the patient has to show: (1) that the doctor owed a professional obligation to her; (2) that the doctor breached this duty by an infraction of the standard of care. (3) The breach resulted in injury and (4) the injury resulted in damages. This last element requires medical expert testimony to assist the jury in understanding the relevant medical standards. It can be difficult for an injured victim and her legal team, to bridge the gap between their own knowledge and experience and the highly-specialized and expert knowledge and expertise needed to determine if there is a malpractice.

Malpractice claims are usually filed in state trial courts, which have jurisdiction for the case, but in certain circumstances they may be filed in federal district court. Both trial courts are subject to the same rules of law as other civil litigants. Depositions of the defendant physician are usually held, during which time the attorneys for each side inquire about the medical records of the defendant. After direct examination an attorney for the opposing side can interrogate the physician who gave the testimony. The process continues until the questions of both sides are exhausted.