How To Find The Perfect Medical Malpractice Settlement On The Internet

How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers an object foreign to her, such as surgical clamps, remains inside her body after gall bladder surgery may file a medical malpractice lawsuit. A successful claim must demonstrate the elements of medical malpractice: duty, deviation from the duty, and direct cause.

Our clients must establish a direct connection between the breach of duty and the injury. This is referred to as the proximate reason.

Causes of Injury

A medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed either by the person who was injured or an attorney. This could be a spouse, adult child, 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. This could be a doctor, nurse, therapist or any other health care professional.

Expert testimony is typically required in malpractice cases. Medical experts are required to testify whether or not the health care provider followed the standard of care in their specific field. They also have to testify about injuries caused by physician's actions or inactions.

The injuries that result from malpractice and negligence can be very serious. For example, a mistake in the diagnosis of a health issue could have life-threatening effects. Other kinds of injuries include operating on the incorrect body part or putting surgical instruments in the patient.

The patient must prove four legal elements in a malpractice claim the duty owed to the patient by the physician and a breach of that obligation; an injury resulting by the breach and resulting damages. In some states such as New York the law limits the amount of money that can be awarded in a case of malpractice.

Causation

The element of injury is called the causation. It is one of most crucial aspects of a medical malpractice claim. To prove causation the plaintiff must prove that they sustained the injury on the basis of probabilities because of the negligence of the doctor. This is a difficult task due to a variety reasons.

For instance, a lot of injuries that are the basis of a medical malpractice lawsuit stem from long-term or ongoing conditions that were already in the process of being treated prior to. Often the statute of limitations for a medical malpractice claim extends over a variety of years, and injuries can develop gradually.

In these cases it is often difficult to prove that one particular medical professional's violation of the standard of care caused the injury. However, the aggrieved patient may be able to use evidence gathered by the attorney, such as medical documents and expert testimony.

During the discovery process, which is a component of the legal process for getting ready for trial, your lawyer could request disclosure of expert testimony as well as other documents from lawyers of the defendants. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit will be asked to give evidence during deposition, which is testimony under an oath. Your lawyer is able to cross-examine doctor and challenge their findings. The jury will decide then if the plaintiff has established the necessary elements of their case including duty, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

When a medical malpractice attorneys negligence claim is filed the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor breached his or her professional duties and that the breaches caused injuries. The plaintiff's lawyer must demonstrate this by presenting evidence through pretrial discovery, which entails requesting disclosure of documents including medical records from all parties who are involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, in which statements are made under oath and recorded for trial, are also a part of this procedure.

A doctor has violated their professional obligation in the event that they did something an ordinary prudent doctor would not have done under the same circumstances. It must be proven that the breach resulted in injury directly to the patient. This is referred to as causation, or the proximate cause. For example when a patient is taken to the hospital for a procedure to treat a hernia and is later told that he or her gall bladder removed instead. This is medical negligence because the removal did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a legally prescribed period of time, called the statute of limitations, which is different for each state. The victim must prove that the care provided was substandard and resulted in injury, and then show how much compensation he or she deserves.

Damages

If a medical error has caused you to suffer injury, you have the right to be made whole. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive a fair and complete compensation for your losses.

The first step is filing and serving an order and complaint on all named defendants in the lawsuit. The parties participate in discovery. This is a process in which documents and declarations are revealed under the oath. During discovery, medical records and doctor's notes will typically be sought.

In many states, to receive compensation for injuries caused by malpractice, you have to prove four things: a duty of care that the healthcare provider is obligated to perform, a breach of this obligation; a causal connection between the breach and injury; and damages caused by the injury. If your attorney can prove all of these elements in a medical malpractice law firm negligence claim, you'll have a strong case.

In some instances the court can award punitive damages, which are intended to penalize the culprit and deter others from engaging in similar conduct. However, this is not the norm in medical malpractice cases, because the courts require precise proof of malice before they can give these extraordinary awards.