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What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical malpractice case involves the patient claiming the negligence of a healthcare professional. The patient (or his or her estate if the patient has passed away) must show that the negligence led to injury or harm.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually filed in state trial courts. To win a lawsuit, the party who is claiming damages must prove four elements of law:

Duty of care

In any legal claim, the plaintiff has to demonstrate that an individual or entity was liable to them for a duty of care, and they failed to fulfill this obligation. In the case of medical malpractice it is a doctor's obligation to provide their patients with a proper standards of medical care. This is typically determined through expert testimony.

Expert witnesses can assist in determining the appropriate standards of medicine and then explain how a doctor has deviated from these standards in treating patients. A lawyer for a plaintiff's claim for medical malpractice has to prove that this deviation caused the victim's injuries.

Expert testimony is vital since jurors are often not familiar with anatomy and have watched a number of medical dramas. In medical malpractice claims, this is particularly important as it is often difficult to establish the appropriate standard of care. In a case of medical malpractice, the standard refers to the level of skill and care quality, as well as level of diligence that other doctors in similar specialties can demonstrate under similar circumstances.

The majority of experts in medical malpractice cases are surgeons or fellow doctors with similar training and board certifications. Due to the "conspiracy of silence" among many doctors (a term lawyers employ to describe the tendency of doctors to not speak against one another) It isn't easy to find a qualified expert willing to be a witness against a colleague for sub-standard care.

Breach of duty

Medical malpractice occurs when a physician makes an error that hurts the patient. Those mistakes can cause new injuries or make preexisting ones worse. Medical Malpractice Lawyers malpractice claims are difficult to prove since they are based on complicated laws and issues. A competent medical malpractice lawyer will review your case to determine if a physician has breached their duty to you.

Your attorney will establish a doctor/patient relationship between you and your physician, which is necessary to prove a malpractice claim. Your attorney will scrutinize the actions and decisions of your physician to determine whether the standard of care in your state for doctors who have similar training, backgrounds, and geographic location is in place.

Doctors are required to follow the guidelines that their patients have set without omission or deviation. If they violate this duty, it means that the doctor did not fulfill these standards and caused injury to you.

Proving that a breach of duty occurred is usually straightforward with the help of the research of your attorney and expert witnesses. Experts can testify that the doctor's actions were not in accordance with the standards of medical care and also explain why another medical professional would have behaved differently in similar circumstances. Your lawyer must also link the breach of duty with your injuries and damages. Your attorney will scrutinize your medical records, prescription and test results, imaging scans and prescriptions to make an argument that the breach of duty committed by the doctor directly contributed to your injuries.

Causation

All treatments come with a degree of risk, however medical errors can exacerbate those dangers. In order to prove causation, the patient must prove that there is a direct link between the alleged negligence of the doctor and the injury. In many cases this will require expert testimony and the help of a lawyer for medical malpractice.

For instance, misdiagnosing an illness or disease is a common error. If a doctor fails to diagnose cancer or other conditions this could have serious consequences for the patient. In this case the patient may suffer excessive suffering, and even die. The doctor may have committed a mistake by not diagnosing the issue properly.

The process of proving that your doctor or hospital was negligent in their treatment of you isn't easy and takes a lot of time. The evidence needed could include various sources, including medical reports and test results as and expert testimony from witnesses and oral depositions. Your attorney can assist you in obtaining and interpreting this evidence, as representing you in the process of depositions.

It is also important to know that only healthcare professionals is liable for negligence. As opposed to receptionists in medical facilities, doctors and nurses must act in accordance to the standard of care. This means that medical professionals must be able of predicting the outcomes based on their skills and knowledge.

Damages

In medical malpractice cases, courts will be hearing about financial compensations designed to help injured patients. The damages may include the cost of medical bills in the past or in the future or wages lost, pain and discomfort, disfigurement, or loss of enjoyment living. Punitive damages may be awarded in a few cases. They are only awarded to the most egregious of actions that society would like to deter.

A medical malpractice case begins by filing in court of a civil summons. The parties then engage in discovery, a process through which the plaintiff and defendants will make public statements under the oath. This could include requesting the exchange of documents such as medical records, taking depositions from parties who are involved in the lawsuit, and conducting interviews with witnesses.

One of the first things to prove in a medical negligence case is that the doctor had the legal obligation to provide healthcare and treatment to the patient. The second thing to establish is that the doctor violated that duty by failing to adhere to the medical standard of care. The third factor is that the breach caused harm to the patient.

It is vital to be aware that the statutes of limitations (the legally-defined time period within which an action for medical malpractice has to be filed) differ from state to states. In New York, there is a statute of limitations of two years and six month (30 months) after the date of the medical malpractice.