15 Top Documentaries About Medical Malpractice Settlement

How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds that a foreign object, such as surgical clamps, remains in her body after gall bladder surgery can file a medical malpractice lawsuit. A successful claim must establish the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviance from this obligation, direct cause and injury.

It is crucial for our clients to establish a direct causal connection between the breach of duty and the damage, known as proximate causation.

Cause of Injury

A claim for medical malpractice can be filed by the victim or an attorney. This could be the spouse or adult child or parent, guardian or administrator of a deceased patient's estate, depending on the circumstances. In a medical malpractice case the defendant is the health care provider. It could be a licensed doctor, nurse or therapist.

Expert testimony is usually required in malpractice cases. Medical experts must be able to testify that the health care provider acted within the standard of care in his or her specific field of expertise. They must also testify as to the damage caused by the doctor’s actions or inactions.

The consequences of negligence and negligence can be very serious. A mistake in diagnosis can have devastating consequences, such as an illness that could be life-threatening. Other types of injuries include operating on the wrong body part or leaving surgical instruments inside the patient.

To prove a malpractice claim, the patient must prove four legal elements: a duty the doctor owed to them; a breach of this duty, resulting injury; and damages. In certain states like New York the law limits the amount of money awarded for a malpractice claim.

Causation

The injury element is called the causation. It is one of the most important aspects of a medical malpractice claim. To establish causation the plaintiff must prove that the injury was the result of the doctor's negligence. This can be a difficult task for a number of reasons.

For instance, many injuries that are the cause of a medical negligence lawsuit are the result of long-term or ongoing conditions that were already present before treatment began. Often, the statute of limitations for a medical malpractice lawyer malpractice claim is extended over a period of years and the injuries can develop gradually.

In these cases it is difficult to prove that a medical professional's failure to adhere to the standard of care and led to the injury is a challenge. The attorney could have gathered evidence, such as expert testimony and medical records, that the injured patient can utilize.

During the discovery process as part of the legal process for preparation for a trial, your lawyer may request that the lawyers representing the defendants disclose expert testimony and other documents. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit will be called to testify during deposition, which is the testimony under an oath. Your lawyer is able to cross-examine doctor and contest their findings. The jury will decide then if the plaintiff has proven the necessary elements of their case including the duty of care, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

When a medical malpractice law firms malpractice claim is filed the plaintiff has to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the physician committed a breach of professional duties and that those breached duties caused injuries. The plaintiff's lawyer has to show this through evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which entails asking for disclosure of documents such as medical records from all parties who are involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, in which the statements are made under oath and recorded for use in trial, are also a part of this process.

A doctor violated his or her professional duty if he or she did something that a reasonably prudent physician would not do in similar circumstances. It must be established that the breach was the cause of the injury directly to the patient. This is referred to as causation, or proxy causes. A patient could visit a hospital to repair a hernia, but instead end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical negligence as the procedure was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally regulated period of time, referred to as the statute of limitations which varies according to the state. The injured patient has to prove that the substandard treatment caused injury, and they have to prove the amount of compensation they are entitled to.

Damages

If medical negligence has led you to sustain an injury, you are entitled to be compensated. At Scaffidi & Associates, we can assist you to receive the full and fair compensation for your losses.

The first step in a lawsuit is to file and serve a complaint along with summons and other papers on all defendants. The parties then proceed to discovery, a process in which documents and statements are disclosed under oath. During discovery medical records and doctor's notes are usually requested.

In many states, to receive compensation for injuries sustained by malpractice, you have to establish four elements including a duty of good faith that is due to the healthcare provider and a breach of that obligation; a causal connection between the breach and injury and damages caused by the injury. If your lawyer can prove all of these elements, you have a strong case for financial recovery in a medical negligence claim.

In some instances the court might award punitive damage which is intended to penalize a wrongdoer and deter others from engaging in similar crimes. This is rare however, particularly in medical malpractice cases. The courts must have clear evidence of malice before they are able to award these extraordinary damages.