15 Surprising Facts About Medical Malpractice Law

Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice lawyer helps victims get compensation for their losses. The common law system regulates medical malpractice lawsuits.

In common law, doctors must follow an ethical standard when treating their patients. If a physician violates accepted medical practice and results in injury or death, then he may be held responsible for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals must follow a set of standards that are accepted by the medical profession as reasonable and prudent in providing medical healthcare. A patient may be in a position to file a lawsuit against a fayetteville medical malpractice attorney professional if those standards aren't being met and the failure results in injuries or health complications.

The first element in a malpractice lawsuit is to prove that you were a patient of the healthcare provider and that they owed you an obligation to act in a reasonable way. You then need to prove that the breach occurred. This is typically done the use of expert testimony which can provide a objective analysis and evaluation.

This expert witness will be able help determine whether or not the defendant's actions fell below the accepted standard of care in your particular situation. In order for the expert to determine this, they will need to be able to examine your medical records and conduct an examination or interview of you.

You also need to establish that the breach of duty directly led you to suffer injury. Causation is a third element in a malpractice lawsuit. In most cases, you will need to have a direct cause-and-effect relationship between the breach of duty and subsequent injury. For example, a misdiagnosis could lead to the wrong treatment or medication being administered and can result in an adverse reaction, like a heart attack.

Breach of Duty

Physicians, like all other people, are legally bound by a obligation to behave with reasonable care and caution. Doctors are held to a higher standard, however, because they are medical experts and can make life-or-death decisions. The obligation of care is defined in the rules and regulations that apply to certain types of procedures and treatments.

In a negligence case it is important to establish that the defendant owed a duty to care for the plaintiff. Then, it must be proven that the defendant did not fulfill that duty of care. This means that the doctor did not adhere to the standard of care appropriate to the circumstances. The standard of care is generally determined by what a reasonable individual would do in the situation. A reasonable driver, for instance, would not run at a traffic light.

In a case of malpractice, expert witnesses may be required to provide evidence on the standard of care that was not met and how the standard was violated. They can also describe how the injury was caused and what could be done to prevent it from occurring.

Damages

Physicians in the United States are required to have malpractice insurance to protect their potential losses arising from medical negligence. In order to file a claim, the plaintiff must prove both financial losses (such anna medical malpractice lawyer expenses and lost wages), as well as noneconomic losses (such suffering and pain).

The amount of compensation you receive from a successful malpractice case depends on how your New York medical malpractice lawyer can argue for your losses. Your attorney can establish the medically required costs by looking over your medical records, using expert testimony and consulting economic experts. Your medical malpractice lawyer must prove the loss of your earnings by proving the amount of days you were absent from work because of medical complications, and that these days were due to the defendant's negligence.

Non-economic damages can be more difficult to prove, and may require the help of a professional who will give evidence about your physical, emotional and mental pain as a result of the negligent actions of the defendant. Other kinds of non-economic damages include loss of consortium, which is the inability to maintain a loving and sexual relationship as you did with your spouse or your significant other. The defendant's lawyer will challenge your non-economic damages with the help of interrogatories, depositions, Marietta Medical malpractice lawyer and requests for documents and sworn declarations.

Statute of limitations

In New York, as with every state, there are certain time limitations - referred to as statutes or limitations within which a dardenne prairie medical malpractice attorney malpractice lawsuit must be filed, or else it will be dismissed by the courts. A seasoned New York medical malpractice lawyer is well-versed in these details and will ensure that your case is filed by the deadlines stipulated by law.

In most cases, victims of medical malpractice has to present a lawsuit within two and a half years of the date on which the negligence or act of a doctor or other health professional caused the injury or death. As with all laws this rule is not without exceptions. If, for instance, the error committed by the health professional was part of a continuing course of treatment, the "clock" of 30 months will not start until the course of treatment is completed or the patient has been informed of the diagnosis.

In certain instances, a patient may not discover the problem until a considerable time later, for example when a foreign object remains within the body after surgery or treatment. For this reason, most states have adopted a legal concept called the discovery rule that allows injured victims to extend deadlines under certain circumstances. Your attorney will be aware specific laws in your state and carefully go over the timeline of your case to ensure that there are no administrative mistakes which could cause delays to your claim.