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How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

A patient who believes he or she was a victim of a mistake made by a health care provider can make a claim for medical malpractice. These cases are different from the typical personal injury lawsuits in that they employ an established standard of care to determine negligence.

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

Duty of care

A doctor, surgeon or other health professional owes a duty of care to their patients. This legal concept says that anyone who is a health professional treating you must adhere to accepted medical practices.

The medical standard of care is the legal yardstick against which all medical malpractice claims are weighed. It is crucial to a successful claim, because it offers a specific method for the injured party and their attorney to establish negligence by proving that a medical professional did not meet the standard of care.

Proving that this standard of care is met often requires the assistance of a qualified medical expert witness. They are essential to determine the relevant medical malpractice law firm standard of care and proving the standard was violated by the defendants in a medical negligence case.

It is also necessary to show that this breach of duty directly led to your injury, illness, or death. In medical malpractice lawsuits damages could include hospital bills loss of income, future earning capacity, pain, suffering, and even punitive damages. Your lawyer must demonstrate the amount of damages that you are entitled to, which can be higher than your original medical costs. This is easier in some instances than in other. In certain cases this is more simple than in others.

Breach of duty

A physician has a duty towards the patient to comply with medical standards of care when providing treatment or other services. If a patient is injured due to negligence of a doctor may file a malpractice suit.

Medical negligence can involve various actions, including errors in diagnosis, dosage of medication, health management, treatment and aftercare. A lawsuit must be valid if the plaintiff can establish four legal elements. These include:

First, there must be an established doctor-patient relationship. The doctor is required to inform patients of any risks and complications that may be involved with the procedure. In the absence of this, it could cause the physician to be held accountable for malpractice, even if the procedure was performed perfectly. If the doctor failed to warn the patient that a particular procedure could have an average of 30% risk of causing limb loss, then the patient may not have agreed to it.

The other element to be proven is a breach in the standard of care. To do this, the lawyer must be able to present expert testimony to prove that the doctor violated the standard of care. Additionally, it must be established that the negligence caused the patient's injury.

It can take a long time to resolve medical negligence claims in the court system, which requires a lot of physician and attorney time, thorough review of records, interviewing experts and research into the medical and legal literature. A physician who faces a malpractice lawsuit will need to pay court fees that are high, attorney costs and work products, in addition to expenses for expert testimony.

Causation

Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals are people and they make mistakes. When these mistakes reach the level of medical malpractice, patients are afflicted with serious and even life-changing injuries. It takes legal and medical expertise to prove that a health provider has acted negligently in duty that caused injury. A successful claim must demonstrate four legal elements: a doctor-patient relationship; the medical professional's duty to the patient; the breach by the doctor of that obligation; and the injury that resulted from the breach.

The injury has to be proven to have been resulted from the doctor's deviation from the standard of medical care. This element is a higher legal standard than "beyond reasonable doubt" in criminal cases. The attorney representing the plaintiff must convince the jury/fact-finder that it is more likely that the physician's negligence caused the injury.

A medical expert is usually required early in the process to help determine all of these factors. Under Rhode Island law, only doctors who have sufficient qualifications, training and expertise in the field of the suspected malpractice can provide expert testimony in the matter. This is why selecting an expert medical malpractice lawsuit professional who is competent is an essential aspect of an investigation into a case of malpractice.

Damages

Medical malpractice lawsuits seek to recover damages that cover the past and future costs caused by an injury. These costs could include hospital bills, doctor's visits, pain and discomfort, and lost wages. The amount of damages awarded is determined by the jury based on the evidence submitted.

During the trial the plaintiff or their lawyer must prove four main legal elements: (1) a physician was obligated to perform a professional obligation; (2) the doctor breached this duty by acting negligently; (3) the doctor's negligence caused injury; and (4) the injuries caused by negligence resulted in damages. Discontent with a doctor's work does not constitute negligence, but a real injury must be present. An expert witness can help to determine if a doctor has violated the standards of care.

The legal process for a malpractice claim can last for years, and involve a significant amount of time spent in "discovery," which involves the exchange of documents and the statements given under oath to the parties involved in the case. Many cases are resolved before they ever reach the courtroom. However, a tiny percentage of these claims make it to the jury trial stage.

In an effort to cut costs associated with litigation, some states have adopted a number of administrative and legislative steps that are collectively known as tort reform measures, to limit liability for malpractice. Additionally, a handful of states have implemented alternative dispute resolution procedures like binding arbitration that is voluntary. The purpose of these alternatives to civil litigation is to decrease costs for litigation and speed up the process of settling malpractice claims while eliminating overly generous juries and screening out frivolous medical claims.