The 10 Most Scariest Things About Medical Malpractice Attorneys

How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Many medical malpractice lawsuits demand a significant amount of time and resources from both doctors and lawyers. This can include physician hours and work product, attorney time court costs as well as expert witness fees and countless other expenses.

A Medical malpractice attorneys malpractice lawsuit can be filed if a healthcare professional is negligent or has committed misconduct or Medical Malpractice Attorneys erred, or acted in a way that was not. The injured party can seek compensation for economic losses, such as future or past medical bills as well as non-monetary damages, like discomfort and pain.

Complaint

A medical malpractice suit has many moving parts and requires credible evidence to prevail. The injured patient, or their attorney if the patient has died must prove each of these legal elements:

A hospital or doctor was bound to act in accordance with the applicable standard of care. The defendant failed to meet this duty. That the breach directly caused injury to the plaintiff. This aspect of a malpractice claim is called "causation." A breach of the standard of care does not cause an injury, but it must be proven that the breach directly caused the injury and was the main cause of the injury.

In order to protect the rights of patients, and to ensure that a doctor does not commit further errors, it is required to file a complaint with the state medical board. However, filing a claim is not the start of the process of a lawsuit, and is typically just a beginning step in getting the malpractice case moving. It is recommended to speak with an Syracuse malpractice attorney before filing any report or document.

Summons

A summons or claim is filed in court and sent to the defendant doctor as part of the legal procedure. A lawyer for the plaintiff appointed by the court will look over these documents. If it appears there is a malpractice case, the lawyer will file an affidavit, along with a complaint to the court, describing the alleged mistake.

The next step is obtaining evidence through pretrial disclosure. This involves submitting requests for documentation like hospital billing and notes from clinics, and taking depositions of the defendant's physician. Attorneys will then inquire with the defendant under oath about his or her knowledge of the case.

This information will be used by the lawyer for the plaintiff to prove elements of an action for medical malpractice in court. The elements of a medical malpractice case include the existence of a duty on the part of the physician to provide medical and treatment to patients, the physician's violation of this duty and a causal link between the breach and the injury or death of the patient, and an amount of damages sufficient to warrant a monetary compensation award.

Discovery

During the discovery process both sides are entitled to request and receive evidence that is relevant to the case. This includes medical records prior to and after the mishaps, information about expert witnesses and tax returns or other documentation relating to out-of-pocket expenses the plaintiff claims to have incurred, along with the names and contact details for any witnesses who will testify at trial.

Most states have a statute-of-limitations that limits the length of time that a patient is allowed to claim compensation after suffering injuries due to an error made by a doctor. The time limit is usually set by law in the state, and they are subject to rules referred to as the "discovery rule."

To win a medical malpractice lawsuit the patient who was injured must prove that a doctor's negligence caused harm to a specific person that is physical pain or loss of income. They must also prove causation -- that is, that the negligent treatment was directly responsible for their injuries or death.

Deposition

Depositions are question-and-answer sessions conducted in the presence of a court reporter who documents both the questions as well as the answers. The deposition is an element of the discovery process which involves gathering information that can be used in the course of a trial.

Attorneys are able to ask a series of questions to witnesses, typically doctors. When a doctor is deposed and asked to answer questions truthfully under an oath. Usually, the physician is questioned questions by one attorney and later cross-examined by a second attorney. This is a crucial phase in the case and the doctor must be attentive to the case.

A deposition is a way for attorneys to gather a full background of the doctor's background, including his or her education, training and experience. This information is critical to proving that the physician breached the standards of care in your particular case and that the breach directly resulted in injury. For instance, doctors who have been trained in the field of malpractice cases typically will affirm that they have extensive knowledge of certain procedures and methods that could be relevant to a particular medical malpractice case.

Trial

Your lawyer will make a complaint to the court, along with a summons. This initiates a legal process of disclosure known as discovery where you and your doctor's team collaborate to collect information to prove your case. This usually includes medical malpractice law firm records and the testimony of experts.

The purpose of proving malpractice is to establish that your physician's actions did not meet the standard of care. Your lawyer must convince the jury that your injuries would be prevented if the doctor had acted in accordance with the standards of care. The lawyer for your doctor will present defenses that contradict the evidence presented by your lawyer.

Despite the myth that doctors are targets for malpractice claims that are frivolous, decades of research on the subject shows that jury verdicts tend to reflect fair assessments of negligence and damages and juries are skeptical of overinflated damages awards. The majority of malpractice cases are settled before trial.