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How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

A patient who believes that he has suffered a loss due to a health care provider's mistake can file a medical malpractice lawsuit. These cases differ from personal injury claims because they use a professional standard to determine the degree of negligence.

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

Duty of care

A surgeon, doctor, nurse or any other health care professional, is obligated to their patients a duty of care. This legal concept basically states that any health care professional who treats you has an obligation to observe the accepted medical practices, without deviation or omission.

The medical standard of care is the legal yardstick to which all medical malpractice claims are measured. It is vital to a successful claim, since it allows for the person who was injured and their attorney to establish negligence by proving the health professional failed to conform to the standards of medical care.

The proof of this standard of treatment usually requires the assistance of a qualified medical expert witness. These experts are crucial in establishing the standard of medical care applicable to the particular case and the manner in which defendants breached the law.

It is also essential to prove that the breach of duty caused your injury, illness or death. In medical malpractice cases, the damages usually include hospital expenses, loss of income and earning capacity, Medical malpractice pain and suffering, loss of quality of living and even punitive damages. Your lawyer must prove the value of these damages, which could be greater than the original medical expenses. This is less difficult in some cases than others. Many doctors work at hospitals that grant them staff privileges. In those situations, a physician's employer may be held responsible via theories of vicarious liability.

Breach of duty

A doctor has a responsibility to the patient to adhere to medical standards when providing medical treatment or services. If a doctor fails to comply with that obligation and an injury occurs an injured patient could make a claim for malpractice.

Medical negligence can involve a wide range of actions, including erroneous diagnosis, medication dosage, health management, treatment and aftercare. A lawsuit can be considered valid if the plaintiff is able to establish four legal elements. These include:

In the first place, there needs to be a connection between doctor and patient. The doctor has a responsibility to inform patients about any risks or complications that could be associated during the procedure. Even if the procedure is performed perfectly, the physician could be held accountable for negligence if they fail to inform the patient. For instance, if the doctor failed to inform patients that a specific procedure was likely to have a 30-percent chance of losing limbs, the patient may not reasonably have consented to the procedure.

The second element to be proved is a breach in 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 established that the breach of standard of care caused the patient's injuries.

The court system isn't always quick to resolve medical negligence cases. This is due to the fact that it requires many hours of time from the doctor and attorney, along with extensive research interviews with experts and a thorough review of legal and medical literature. A physician facing a malpractice lawsuit must pay substantial court fees, attorney's products and costs, and expenses for expert testimony.

Causation

Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals are individuals and they make mistakes. When these mistakes are at the level of malpractice, patients can suffer serious and life-changing injuries. It requires both legal and medical expertise to prove that a medical malpractice lawyer provider has committed a breach of duty and thereby caused injury. A successful claim requires four legal elements to be proven: a physician-patient relation as well as the duty of a doctor to care for the patient, the doctor's failure to fulfill this duty, and then the injury caused by the breach.

The injury must be proved to be caused by the doctor's deviance from the standard of medical care. This element has 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 doctor's actions were negligent and that negligence was a reason for the injury.

Expert medical witnesses are often required early in the process to establish all of these elements. According to Rhode Island law only doctors with sufficient knowledge, experience and training in the area of the suspected malpractice are able to provide expert testimony. This is why choosing an expert medical professional who is competent is an essential element of the case of a malpractice.

Damages

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

The plaintiff or their attorney must prove four legal elements at trial: (1) the physician owed a duty to them; (2) the doctor violated this duty through negligence; (3) the doctor’s negligence caused injury; (4) the injury resulted in measurable damages. A dissatisfaction with a doctor's work isn't a cause of malpractice, but an actual injury must be present. A professional witness can help to determine if a doctor has violated the standards of care.

The legal procedure for a claim of malpractice can last many years. This is because "discovery" involves the exchange of documents and sworn statements of the parties involved. While many cases settle before reaching the courtroom, only a few of these cases go all the way to the jury trial and verdict.

In order to cut down on costs of litigation, certain states have enacted a variety of legislative and administrative actions commonly referred to as tort reform measures, to limit liability for malpractice. Additionally, a handful of states have implemented alternative dispute resolution procedures like voluntary binding arbitration. The objective of these alternatives to civil litigation is to decrease costs of litigation and speed up settlement of malpractice claims by removing juries with excessively generous verdicts and weeding out unnecessary medical claims.