The 10 Scariest Things About Medical Malpractice Attorneys

How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

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

A serious injury that is the result of medical professional's negligence, misconduct, error or omission could result in a medical malpractice claim. The injured party may be able to seek compensation damages, including the actual economic loss, such as the future and past medical bills, and noneconomic losses such as pain and suffering.

Complaint

A medical malpractice claim is a complex matter and requires credible proof for success. The patient who has been injured (or their attorney if they've passed away) must show each of these legal aspects of the claim:

The defendant breached that duty. The defendant violated that duty. That the breach directly caused injury to the plaintiff. This element of a malpractice claim is called "causation." A breach of the standard of care is not a cause of injury, but it has to be proven that the breach directly caused the injury and was the main cause of the injury.

It is usually necessary to file a complaint with a state medical malpractice law firm board in order to protect patients' rights and ensure that the doctor does not commit further negligence. However, filing a claim is not the start of an action, and is often only a first step in making the malpractice claim move. It is often best to speak with an Syracuse attorney for malpractice prior to filing a report, or any other document.

Summons

As part of the legal process the summons or claim form is filed with the court and delivered to the doctor who is the defendant. A lawyer appointed by the court for plaintiff will then go over these documents and, if it appears that there could be an incident of malpractice, they will file a complaint along with an affidavit to the court detailing the alleged medical error.

The next step in the legal process is to obtain evidence through pretrial discovery. This involves submitting requests for documentation such as hospital billing information and notes from the clinic, and then taking the defendant physician's deposition during which lawyers ask the defendant about his or his knowledge of the situation under oath.

The information provided will be used by the attorney representing the plaintiff to prove the elements of a claim for medical negligence in the course of trial. These include the existence of an obligation on the doctor's part to provide care and treatment to patients; the physician's breach of this duty; a causal relationship between the breach and the patient's injury or death; and a sufficient amount of damages resulting from the injury or death to justify a monetary award of compensation.

Discovery

During the discovery phase, both parties are allowed to request any evidence relevant to their case. This includes medical records from prior to and after an incident of alleged negligence, information about experts and tax returns or other documents related to out-of pocket expenses that the plaintiff claims have been incurred, and the names and contact information of any witnesses who will testify at trial.

Most states have a statute-of-limitations that restricts the length of time that a patient is allowed to pursue a lawsuit after being injured due to a medical mistake. Those time limits are usually set by law of the state, and they are subject to a rule known as the "discovery rule."

To win a medical malpractice lawsuit, an injured patient must show that the doctor's negligence caused a specific injury like physical pain or loss of income. They must also prove causationmeaning, that the negligent treatment was directly responsible for their injury or death.

Deposition

Depositions are question-and-answer sessions that take place in presence a court reporter, who takes notes of the questions as well and the answers. Depositions are part of the discovery process through which the parties gather information to be used in the trial.

Depositions permit attorneys to ask witnesses, typically doctors for a series of questions. When a physician is deposed, they must answer all questions truthfully under oath. Typically, the doctor is asked questions by one attorney, and then cross-examined by a different attorney. This is a crucial step in the case and the doctor must be attentive to the case.

A deposition is a way for attorneys to obtain a detailed background on the doctor in terms of his or the training, education and experience. This information is critical to establish that the doctor violated the standards of care in your situation and that the breach directly resulted in injury. Doctors who have been trained in this field will typically testify they have extensive experience in performing certain procedures and techniques that could be relevant to an individual medical Malpractice attorney-malpractice case.

Trial

A lawsuit in a civil court is launched when your lawyer files a complaint and summons with the appropriate court. This triggers a legal procedure of disclosure called discovery, which is where you and your doctor's team collaborate to collect evidence to prove your case. This typically consists of medical records as well as testimony from expert witnesses.

To prove that you committed a crime it is necessary to prove that your doctor's actions were not in line with the standard of care. Your lawyer must convince the jury that your injuries could be prevented if the doctor had followed the standards of care. The lawyers for your doctor will present defenses that go against the evidence presented by your lawyer.

Despite the myth that doctors are the target of frivolous claims of malpractice the decades of evidence demonstrate that jury verdicts reflect fair judgments of negligence and damages and that juries tend to be skeptical of inflated award amounts. The vast majority of malpractice cases are settled before trial.