How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

If a patient discovers that a foreign object, such as surgical clamps, remain inside her body after gall bladder surgery could bring a medical malpractice lawsuit. A successful claim must prove the elements of brawley medical malpractice attorney negligence: duty, deviation from the duty, and direct cause.

It is essential for our clients to establish a direct link between the breach of duty and the injury, known as proximate causation.

Causes of Injury

A medical malpractice claim may be filed either by the person who suffered the injury or a legal representative. This could be a spouse or adult child parent, guardian, or administrator of a deceased patient's estate, depending on the circumstances. The defendant in a medical malpractice suit is the health professional. This could be a licensed doctor, nurse or therapist.

The majority of cases involving malpractice involve many expert witnesses. Medical experts must be able to testify that the health care provider did what was required of care in their specific field of expertise. They must also testify as to the damage caused by the doctor’s actions or inactions.

The injuries that result from malpractice and negligence can be very serious. A mistake in diagnosis can have devastating consequences, like life-threatening conditions. Other types of injuries can include operating on the wrong body part or putting surgical instruments in the patient.

To prove a malpractice claim the patient has to prove four legal elements: a duty that the physician owed to them; a breach of this duty, resulting injury and damages. In some states, like New York, the law puts a limit on amount of money that can be awarded for an injury resulting from a malpractice claim.

Causation

The injury element, also referred to as causation is one of the most important elements of medical malpractice cases. To prove causation, the plaintiff must prove that they sustained the injury on a balance of probabilities due to due to the negligence of the doctor. This is a challenging task due to a variety of reasons.

Many of the injuries that are the basis of a medical negligence lawsuit result from long-term or ongoing issues that existed before treatment began. Often the statute of limitations for a medical negligence claim is extended over a period of years and the injuries can develop gradually.

In these instances, it is difficult to prove that a specific medical professional's violation of the standard of care led to the injury. However, the patient who is afflicted could be able to use the evidence gathered by the attorney, including Encinitas Medical Malpractice Attorney records and expert testimony.

During the discovery process, which is a component of the legal procedure for prepping for trial, your lawyer will seek disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from the defense attorneys of the defendants. The doctor who is representing the case will be required to give deposition. This is a testimony that is made under the oath. Your lawyer can challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will then decide whether the plaintiff has proved the necessary elements of their case including the duty of care, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

The plaintiff must convince the jury, when filing a claim for medical malpractice, that it is likely that the doctor violated his or her duties as medical professional and that these violations caused injury. The lawyer for the plaintiff must prove this using evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which includes seeking disclosure of documents, which includes medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. This process also includes the recording of sworn statements and used in trial.

A doctor has violated their professional obligation if they did something reasonable and prudent doctors would not have done under the same circumstances. It must be proved that the breach resulted in injury directly to the patient. This is referred to as causation or proximate cause. Patients may go to the hospital to have a hernia repaired, however, they end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice because the removal of the gall bladder did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a specific legal timeframe, also known as the statute of limitations. This differs from state-to-state. The victim must prove that the negligence caused injury, and then show how much compensation he or she deserves.

Damages

If medical negligence has led you to sustain an injury, you have the right to be made whole. At Scaffidi & Associates, we can help you receive the full and fair compensation for your loss.

The first step is filing and serving a summons and complaint to all defendants named in the lawsuit. The parties then participate in discovery, a process by which documents and statements are disclosed under the oath. During discovery medical records and notes from a doctor will usually be requested.

In most states, in order to receive compensation for injuries caused through malpractice, you need to prove four things: a duty of care that the healthcare provider is obligated to perform, a breach of this obligation; a causal connection between the breach and injury and damages caused by the injury. If your attorney can prove all of these aspects of a medical negligence claim, you will have a convincing case.

In certain instances the court can decide to award punitive damages. These are intended to penalize the perpetrator and discourage others from engaging in the same conduct. However, this isn't the norm in medical malpractice cases, because the courts require evident proof of malice in order to make these extraordinary awards.