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How to File a Medical Malpractice Case
Medical malpractice cases can be a bit complicated. A knowledgeable attorney can help you through this complex procedure and help you understand your rights.
In order to file a malpractice claim, you must prove that your doctor or another healthcare professional breached their duty of care to you. The breach could have resulted in a negative legal outcome for you, such as an unfavorable medical result or financial loss.
Birth defects
The birth of a baby is a incredibly joyful time for parents. Unfortunately, medical issues can be a problem during this time. These can include issues related to birth defects, such as lips with clefts and missing limbs or congenital heart disease, as well as muscular dystrophy. You could be able to file a malpractice claim in the event that a negligent doctor caused these conditions during pregnancy or delivery.
Birth defects can occur for many reasons, including exposure to prescription medications or environmental factors that cause toxic chemicals and prenatal care problems. The responsibility of the doctor to ensure the well-being and wellbeing of the mother and fetus involves performing appropriate screening tests, detecting and treating any abnormalities that may occur during pregnancy and conducting the appropriate tests for screening.
Medical experts must determine whether a doctor's negligence in diagnosis or treatment of the condition was negligent and caused serious injury. To establish negligence, an expert must review the standard of care a doctor would have followed in similar circumstances, and prove that the doctor didn't follow the standard of care and consequently caused the injury or death.
It is important to speak to any witnesses and gather evidence at the scene of the accident. These could include people who were at the hospital and other patients as well as their families, nurses and more. Additionally, you must take photographs of the injuries your child sustained to show how severe they were.
Maternal deaths
Every year approximately 700-900 women die of complications from pregnancy or childbirth. This is an alarming number particularly in a first-world country like the United States. A recent investigation conducted by USA Today suggests many of these deaths could have been avoided by better care at hospitals.
Some of the main causes for maternal death are obstetric emergency that include bleeding that is severe during birth or hemorrhage following delivery, as well as pre-existing illnesses like obesity and diabetes that affect childbirth and pregnancy. However doctors also have a responsibility to be aware of and take care of warning signs, like high blood pressure that can cause the deadly condition known as preeclampsia. Preeclampsia can lead to a premature separation of the placenta, seizures, and the life-threatening disorder called HELLP syndrome.
Medical malpractice lawsuits related to gynecology and obstetrics are some of the most frequent types of lawsuits filed in the United States. In a malpractice lawyers lawsuit, the plaintiff must prove the doctor or healthcare provider violated the accepted standards of care, and that the violation led to the plaintiff's injury or death. The standard of care is defined by the legal community and varies from state to state. Despite the number of malpractice claims, most settle without ever going to trial. Settlements are usually reached through direct negotiations between the parties, and sometimes with the assistance of an impartial mediator (often a retired judge or attorney). Medical malpractice suits do not take a doctor off the market immediately.
Injuries as a result of surgery
Although medical advances have drastically decreased the chance of adverse outcomes, they can still occur. If they do, they usually cause serious injuries. These injuries aren't just painful and uncomfortable, but they could also lead to expensive corrective surgeries, high medical costs long recovery times, Malpractice lawsuits or even death.
Not all surgical errors are negligence. In order for a case successful, it must be proven that medical professionals did not adhere to the standard of care during a procedure and that this error directly led to injuries. Damages that are considered medical malpractice law firms can include:
Wrong-site surgery, which means the surgeon performs surgery on another body part than intended; leaving a scalpel, sponge, or other item inside a patient cutting or nicking an organ or nerve; infection due to improperly cleaned or sanitized equipment, and more.
A lawsuit for surgical errors is a complicated matter therefore, you must seek the advice of an experienced lawyer who is familiar with medical malpractice. It's also important to document any injuries you sustain by taking photos of the incident, and note down any information you think might be relevant to your claim. A legal action for surgical errors can take years to resolve, however it's worth it when your doctor committed an avoidable mistake that caused you to be injured. This is especially the case if your injuries are severe and have a significant impact on your living quality.
Wrongful death
Losing a loved one be extremely stressful, but if that death is due to the negligence of someone else, it can be unbearably painful. In accordance with state law, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against the other party to collect damages.
A wrongful death is different from a medical malpractice case because it affects the life of a person, rather than their health. This is why the standard of proof is higher - it must be proven beyond the reasonable doubt that the loved person's death was caused by the negligence of another party.
Joan's husband, for example was diagnosed with a lung tumor that was not detected by an x-ray. The doctor who didn't follow up on the patient's symptoms or conduct an MRI after the patient complained of breathing issues was the cause of his death. The delay in treatment led to the tumor to grow irreparably.
In this scenario, the patient's relatives could bring a lawsuit for wrongful death against the hospital and doctor. Similar to a medical malpractice claim, the type of damages that can be claimed depends on your state's laws. They can include both economic and non-economic losses like funeral expenses loss of consortium, funeral expenses and suffering prior to the victim's death. In addition, claims for wrongful death can include punitive damages. This amount isn't included in all cases, however it's a possibility if the death of the victim was especially inexplicably egregious or as a result of multiple errors.
