How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds an object that is foreign, for example, surgical clamps in her body after gall bladder surgery could make a claim for medical negligence. A successful claim must establish the legal aspects of medical malpractice lawsuit negligence: duty, deviation from this obligation, direct cause and injury.

Our clients must establish a direct connection between the breach of duty, and the injury. This is referred to as proximate cause.

Cause of Injury

A claim for medical malpractice can be filed by the injured person or a legal representative. Depending on the circumstances, this could be a spouse of the patient or an adult child, parent, a guardian ad litem or the administrator or executor of the estate of the deceased patient. In a case involving medical malpractice the defendant is the health care provider. It could be a licensed doctor, nurse or therapist.

Expert testimony is typically required in cases of malpractice. Medical experts are required to determine if the medical professional performed his duties in accordance with the standard of care in their particular field of expertise. They also need to testify on the injury that was caused by the physician's actions or actions or.

The consequences of malpractice and negligence can be very severe. A mistake in diagnosis can have devastating consequences, like an illness that could be life-threatening. Other types of injuries be caused by operating on an incorrect body part or leaving surgical instruments inside the patient.

The patient must prove four legal elements of a malpractice lawsuit the duty owed to the patient by the physician; a breach of this obligation; a harm caused by the breach and the consequential damages. In certain states, such as New York, the law puts a limit on amount of money that can be awarded in a malpractice claim.

Causation

The injury element, also known as causation, is one of the most important aspects of a medical malpractice case. To establish causation the plaintiff must prove that the injury was caused by a physician's negligence. This can be a challenging task for several reasons.

For instance, a lot of injuries that are the cause of a medical malpractice law firms negligence lawsuit stem from long-term, or ongoing conditions that were present prior to the time of treatment. The time-limit for medical malpractice cases can be extended over a period of time and injuries can develop slowly.

In these situations, it is difficult to prove that a certain medical professional's breach of the standard of care led to the injury. The attorney may have collected evidence, including medical records and expert testimony that the patient who was injured can use.

During the discovery process, which is a part of the legal procedure prepping for trial, your lawyer could request the disclosure of expert testimony as well as other documents from lawyers of the defendants. The doctor who is representing the case will be required to take deposition. This is a testimony that is made under an oath. Your lawyer will be able to cross-examine doctor and challenge their findings. The jury will decide then if the plaintiff has established the essential elements of their case such as obligation, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

If a claim for medical malpractice is filed in court, the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor breached his or her professional duties and that the breaches resulted in injury. The lawyer representing the plaintiff must show this through evidence gathered through pre-trial discovery, which involves requesting disclosure of documents including medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. The process also involves sworn declarations that are recorded and used in trial.

A doctor has violated their professional obligation if they did something a reasonable and prudent doctor would not have done in similar circumstances. It must be established that the breach caused the injury directly to the patient. This is referred to as causation, or the proximate cause. A patient might go to the hospital in order to have a hernia fixed, however, they end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical negligence since the procedure did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally regulated period of time, referred to as the statute of limitations, which varies by state. The injured patient must establish that the substandard care resulted in injury, and then prove how much monetary compensation he or she deserves.

Damages

If medical negligence has caused you to sustain an injury, you should be made whole. At Scaffidi & Associates, we can assist you in obtaining the full and fair compensation for your loss.

The first step is filing and serving a summons and complaint to all named defendants in the lawsuit. The parties participate in discovery. This is a process which involves the disclosure of documents and statements presented under oath. During discovery medical records and notes from a doctor will typically be sought.

In most states, you need to prove four things to be compensated for injuries caused by medical malpractice which includes a duty to the healthcare provider; a breach of that duty; a causal link between the breach and the injury suffered by the patient; and damages that flow from the injury. If your attorney can establish all of these elements, you can make a an argument for financial compensation in a medical malpractice case.

In some cases, courts can decide to award punitive damages. These are intended to punish the offender and deter others from committing the same offense. However, this isn't the norm in medical malpractice cases, because the courts require specific proof of malice to award these extraordinary awards.