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Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice law firms malpractice lawyer helps injured patients receive compensation for their losses. The legal system that governs medical malpractice cases is based on common law.

In the common law, doctors are required to adhere to a certain standard of care when treating patients. If a doctor is not following the accepted medical standard and results in a death or injury, he may be liable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of standards which are recognized by the medical profession as being reasonable and prudent in their care. If these standards aren't followed and if they cause harm or health issues the patient may be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The first element of a malpractice lawsuit is to prove that you had a doctor-patient relationship with the healthcare provider and that the person or entity had a legal obligation to act with reasonable care. You must then prove the breach occurred. This is typically done with the use of expert testimony who can provide an objective analysis and assessment of the situation.

The expert witness can determine whether the defendant's actions were below the accepted standard in your case. The expert will examine your medical records and interview or examine you in order to arrive at this conclusion.

You must be able to show that the breach directly led to your injury. Causation is the third factor in a malpractice claim. In most instances, you'll require an immediate cause-and-effect connection between the breach of duty and subsequent injury. A mistake in diagnosis, for instance can result in prescribing the wrong medication or treatment being administered. This could result in an adverse reaction such as heart attacks.

Breach of Duty

Like all doctors physicians, doctors are legally bound by an obligation to act with the utmost care and caution. However doctors are held to a higher standard due to the fact that they are medical experts and have to make life and death decisions. The obligation of care is defined in the rules and regulations that are situated for specific types of procedures and treatments.

In a negligence case it is crucial to prove that the defendant owed the duty of care for the plaintiff. It must be proven that the defendant did not fulfill that duty of care. This means that the doctor did not meet the standards of care in the particular circumstance. The quality of care is usually determined by what a reasonable individual would do in similar circumstances. A reasonable driver, for instance would not operate the traffic light.

In a lawsuit involving a malpractice experts could be required to provide evidence on the standard of care that was violated and Medical Malpractice Lawsuit the manner in which this standard was breached. They can also describe how the injury occurred and what could be done to prevent it from happening.

Damages

In the United States, physicians are required to have malpractice insurance to protect against potential loss that may result due to medical negligence. To submit a claim for damages the plaintiff must prove both actual financial losses (such as medical expenses and lost wages) as well as non-economic losses (such as pain and suffering).

The amount of compensation you receive from a successful malpractice suit is contingent on how effectively your New York medical malpractice attorney defends your losses. Your lawyer will determine your medically required expenses through a review your medical records, evidence from experts and the use of economic experts. Your medical malpractice attorney must prove your lost earnings by proving the amount of days you were absent from work due your medical conditions, and also that these days were a result of the defendant's negligence.

Non-economic damages can be harder to prove. You may need the assistance of a professional witness who can provide details of your mental, physical, and emotional suffering as direct result of the defendant's negligence. Loss of consortium is a second type of non-economic damage. This is the inability to have an intimate relationship with your spouse or any other significant person in the same way you once did. The lawyer representing the defendant will contest your non-economic damages by a process of interrogatories and depositions as well as demands for documents and declarations under swearing.

Statute of limitations

Like every state, medical malpractice lawsuit New York has a statute of limitations that must be fulfilled before a medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed. If not the court will not dismiss the case. An experienced New York medical malpractice lawyer is well-versed in these details and will make sure that your claim is filed before the deadlines set by law.

In most instances, the victim of medical malpractice has to file his or her lawsuit within two and a half years of the date that the negligence or act of a healthcare professional resulted in the death or injury. As with all laws, this rule is not without exceptions. If, for example, the error made by the health care provider was part of a continuous course of treatment, then the "clock" of 30 months cannot begin until the course of treatment is completed or the patient has been informed of the diagnosis.

In some instances patients may not recognize the problem until a long time later, for example when a foreign object is left within the body after surgery or treatment. Because of this, many states have enacted the legal concept known as the discovery rule which permits injured victims to extend deadlines in certain circumstances. Your attorney will be aware of specific laws in your state and will carefully review your case timeline to avoid any administrative errors which could cause delays to your claim.