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How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

A patient who believes he or she has suffered losses because of an error by a doctor can file a medical malpractice lawsuit. These types of cases differ from the typical personal injury lawsuits in that they employ an established standard of care to determine the degree of negligence.

In the United States, claims of malpractice are handled by state trial courts. Each state has its own set of rules and procedures.

Duty of care

A surgeon, doctor, malpractice nurse or any other health care professional owes a duty of care to their patients. This legal principle states that any health professional who treats you must adhere to the accepted medical practice.

The medical standard of care is the legal yardstick against which all medical malpractice claims are measured. It is essential for a successful lawsuit, because it offers a means the injured person as well as their attorney to demonstrate negligence by proving that the health professional did not conform to the standards of care.

The proof of this standard of treatment usually requires the assistance of a medical expert witness. They are essential to establishing the relevant medical standard of care and how this standard was violated by the defendants in a medical negligence case.

It is also necessary to prove that this breach of duty was the cause of your injury, illness, or death. In medical malpractice cases, damages typically include hospital costs as well as loss of income and earning capacity, pain and suffering, lost quality of life and even punitive damages. Your lawyer must demonstrate the amount of damages you are entitled to, which may be higher than your original medical costs. This is easier in some cases than others. In certain instances this is more straightforward than in other cases.

Breach of duty

A physician owes the patient a duty to act in accordance with medical standards of care when providing services or treatments. A patient who has been injured due to negligence of a doctor may file a malpractice suit.

Medical negligence can involve a wide range of actions, including erroneous diagnosis, medication dosage and malpractice health management, as well as treatment and post-treatment. In order for a lawsuit to be valid the plaintiff has to prove four legal elements. These include:

First, there must be a doctor-patient relationship. The physician must have the obligation of informing the patient about any risks or issues that may arise from the procedure. In the absence of this, it could render the physician liable for malpractice, even if the procedure was performed perfectly. If the doctor did not inform the patient that a certain procedure was likely to have 30% chance of causing loss of limbs, then the patient may not have consented.

The other element to be proven is an infraction to the standard of care. To show that the doctor did not follow from standard care, the lawyer will require an expert witness testimony. It must also be proved that the breach of standard of care caused the patient's injuries.

The court system can be slow to resolve medical negligence cases. This is due to the fact that it requires a lot of time from both the physician and attorney, as well as extensive research, interviews with experts, and a thorough study of medical and legal literature. A doctor who is facing a malpractice lawsuit will need to pay high court costs as well as attorney fees and work products, in addition to expenses for expert testimony.

Causation

All healthcare professionals including doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals are humans and will make mistakes. When these errors reach the level of malpractice, patients could suffer life-threatening injuries. The proof that a health care provider has breached his or her duty and caused an injury requires both medical and legal knowledge. A successful case requires four legal elements to prove such as a relationship between a doctor and patient, the doctor's duty of care to the patient, the doctor's failure to fulfill that duty, and finally, the harm caused by the breach.

It must also be proven that the physician's deviation from the standards of care was the sole and primary cause of the injury. This is a higher legal standard than "beyond reasonable doubt" in criminal cases. The lawyer representing the plaintiff has to convince the jury/factfinder that it is more likely than not that the physician's actions were negligent and that negligence was a result of the injury.

Expert medical testimony is usually required early in the process to establish the validity of all these elements. According to Rhode Island law only doctors with sufficient education, training and experience in the area of the claimed malpractice can provide expert testimony. This is the reason why selecting an expert medical professional who is competent is an essential element of a malpractice case.

Damages

A medical malpractice law firm malpractice lawsuit aims to recover damages that include the past and future expenses related to an injury. The costs could include hospital bills, doctor's appointments as well as pain and discomfort and lost wages. The amount of damages awarded is determined by the jury by the evidence presented.

During the trial, the plaintiff or their attorney must prove four legal elements: (1) a physician owed them a professional duty; (2) the doctor breached this duty by acting negligently; (3) the doctor's negligence caused injury and (4) the injury caused damages that are quantifiable. A doctor's work is not malpractice if you are dissatisfied with it. But there must be a repercussion. An expert in medical practice can determine whether a physician has strayed from the norm of care.

The legal process of a malpractice claim can last for several years, with lots of time spent in "discovery," which involves the exchange of documents and statements that are oath-taking by the parties involved in the case. While a majority of cases settle before reaching the courtroom, a small percentage of these claims make it all the way to the jury trial and verdict.

In an effort to reduce costs of litigation, certain states have taken a variety of administrative and legislative actions, known collectively as tort reform measures to limit liability for negligence. Some states have also implemented alternative dispute resolution schemes including binding arbitration. The purpose of these alternative methods to civil litigation is to decrease the cost of litigation and speed up treatment of malpractice claims, by removing juries with excessively generous verdicts and removing frivolous medical claims.