The 10 Most Scariest Things About Medical Malpractice Attorneys

How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Many medical malpractice cases require a lot of time and resources from both physicians and attorneys. This investment includes attorney time and court costs expert witness fees, and other expenses.

A traumatic injury caused by a healthcare professional's negligence, mistake, or omission could result in medical malpractice claims. The injured party can seek compensation for economic losses, such as future or past medical bills as well as non-monetary damages, such as discomfort and pain.

Complaint

A medical malpractice case is a complicated one and requires credible proof for success. The patient who has been injured or their attorney, when the patient has passed away must prove each of these legal elements:

The defendant violated this duty. The defendant violated that obligation. The breach directly caused injury to the plaintiff. This is referred to as "cause". A breach of a duty of care does not in itself cause injury. It must be proven that it caused the injury directly and was the primary cause for the injury.

To ensure a patient's rights, and to ensure that a physician does not commit further errors, it is required to file a complaint with the state medical board. However, filing a report does not start a lawsuit and is often just a step towards making the malpractice claim move. It is recommended to talk with an Syracuse malpractice lawyer prior to filing any report or other document.

Summons

A summons or claim is filed in court and sent to the doctor who is defendant as part of the legal procedure. A court-appointed lawyer for the plaintiff will then review these documents and, if they believe that there may be an incident of malpractice then they will file a complaint and affidavit with the court describing the medical malpractice lawyer error that they believe to have committed.

The next step in the legal process is obtaining evidence through pretrial discovery. This includes the submission of requests for documentation such as hospital bills or clinic notes, and taking the deposition of the defendant physician. Attorneys will then inquire with the defendant on oath about the details of the case.

This information will be used by the plaintiff's lawyer to prove the elements of a claim for medical negligence at trial. This includes the existence of a duty on the doctor's part to provide medical care and treatment to patients; the doctor's infraction of this duty causality between the breach and the patient's injury or death and a significant amount of damages that result from the death or injury to warrant a monetary award for compensation.

Discovery

During the discovery phase where both parties are permitted to request evidence that is relevant to their case. This includes medical records from prior to and after an incident of negligence, information about experts and tax returns, copies of the tax return or other documents related to expenses out of pocket that the plaintiff claims to have attributable to them, and the names and contact details of any witnesses who will be appearing in the trial.

Most states have a statute-of limitations that restricts the period that a patient must sue after being injured by an error made by a doctor. The time limit is set by the laws of the state and are subject to a rule called the "discovery rules."

In order to win a medical negligence lawsuit, a patient who has been injured has to show that the doctor's negligence caused a specific injury such as physical pain, or loss of income. They must also prove causation -which means, that the negligent treatment was the sole reason for their injury or death.

Deposition

Depositions are essentially question-and-answer meetings that take place in the presence a court reporter, who records the questions as well in the responses. The deposition is an element of the process of discovery in which the parties collect evidence to use in a trial.

Depositions allow attorneys to ask witnesses, typically doctors to answer a set of questions. If a doctor is deposed to testify, he or she must answer all questions honestly under the oath. Usually, the physician is asked questions by an attorney and then cross-examined by a different attorney. This is a crucial stage of the case and requires the complete concentration and attention of the doctor.

A deposition is a great opportunity for lawyers to gather details about the doctor, including her training, education and experience. This information is essential to showing that the doctor violated your standards of care and that this breach resulted in injury to you. For example, physicians who have been trained in the area of malpractice cases typically will declare that they have a vast experience in performing certain procedures and techniques that could be relevant to a specific medical malpractice claim.

Trial

Your lawyer will file a complaint with the court and a summons. This begins a legal process of disclosure called discovery, which is where you and your doctor's team collaborate to collect evidence to prove your case. The evidence typically includes medical records and expert witness testimony.

To prove that you committed a crime it is necessary to prove that your doctor's actions were below the standard of care. Your lawyer must convince a jury that it is more likely than not your injuries would not have occurred had your doctor acted in accordance with the standards of care. The lawyer representing your doctor will argue defenses which contradict the evidence presented to you by your attorney.

Despite the belief that doctors are a target for frivolous malpractice claims decades of empirical research shows that jury verdicts usually reflect fair assessments of negligence and damages and juries are skeptical of inflated damage awards. The vast majority of malpractice cases settle before trial.