It s Time To Upgrade Your Medical Malpractice Settlement Options

How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers a foreign object, such as surgical clamps, remain inside her body following gall bladder surgery could bring a medical malpractice lawsuit. A successful lawsuit must prove the legal aspects of medical negligence: duty, deviation from this duty, direct cause, and injury.

It is vital for our clients to establish a direct causal connection between the breach of duty and the resulting injury that is known as proximate causation.

The reason for injury

A medical malpractice claim can be filed either by the victim or an attorney. Based on the specific circumstances, this could be a spouse of the patient or an adult child parent, guardian ad Litem or the executor or administrator of the estate of the patient who died. The defendant in a medical malpractice law firms malpractice suit is the health care provider. This could be a doctor, nurse, therapist or any other health care professional.

The majority of cases involving malpractice involve a lot of expert testimony. Medical experts must testify as to whether or not the health care provider was in compliance with the standard of care for their particular field. They must also testify as to the harm resulting from the doctor’s actions or inactions.

Injuries caused by negligence and negligence can be very serious. A misdiagnosis could have grave consequences, like the possibility of a life-threatening illness. Other types of injuries could include operating on the wrong part or putting instruments inside the patient during surgery.

The patient must prove four legal elements of a malpractice claim: a duty owed to the patient by the physician; a breach of this obligation; a harm caused by the breach; and the consequential damages. In some states such as New York the law limits the amount of money awarded in a malpractice case.

Causation

The injury element, also referred to as causation, is one of the most important elements of medical malpractice cases. To prove causation, the plaintiff must prove that the injury was caused by a physician's negligence. This can be a challenging task due to a variety of reasons.

For example, many injuries that are the basis of a medical malpractice lawsuit are the result of long-term or ongoing ailments that were in the process of being treated prior to. Often the statute of limitations for a medical malpractice claim extends out over a number of years, and injuries can develop gradually.

In these instances the proof that a medical professional's violation of the standard of care which led to the injury is not easy. The attorney may have collected evidence, including medical records and expert testimony that the patient who was injured may use.

During the discovery process, which is part of the legal procedure getting ready for trial, your lawyer could seek disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from lawyers of the defendants. The doctor who is representing the case will be required to testify in a deposition. This is a statement which is under an oath. Your lawyer may challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide if the plaintiff has proven all the elements of the case which include breach of duty, breach and causation.

Negligence

When a medical negligence claim is filed the plaintiff has to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor committed a breach of professional obligations and that those breaches resulted in injuries. The plaintiff's attorney has to be able to prove this by utilizing evidence collected during discovery. This involves the request of documents, including medical records, from all parties involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, in which the statements are made under oath and recorded for use at trial, are also a part of this process.

A doctor was in breach of his or her professional duty when he or she did something that a prudent doctor medical malpractice lawsuits would not do under similar circumstances. It must be established that the breach caused the injury directly to the patient. This is known as causation or proximate causes. For instance an individual goes to the hospital for a hernia surgery and ends up having his or her gall bladder removed instead. This is medical malpractice because the removal of the gall bladder did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally-defined time frame, known as the statute of limitations, which is different for each state. The person who suffered the injury must prove that the negligent treatment resulted in injury, and after that they must prove what monetary compensation they deserve.

Damages

You should be compensated for any injuries you've suffered as a result of medical negligence. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive full and fair compensation for your losses.

The first step in a lawsuit is to make a complaint and serve it as well as summons and other documents on all defendants. The parties engage in discovery. It is a process where documents and evidence are disclosed under an oath. During discovery medical records and doctor's notes are usually requested.

In most states, in order to get compensation for injuries caused by negligence, you must to establish four elements: a duty of care that is due to the healthcare provider, a breach of this duty; a causal link between the breach and injury; and damages that result from the injury. If your lawyer can prove all these aspects of a medical negligence claim, you'll have a strong case.

In some cases the court can make punitive damages available, which are intended to penalize the offender and deter others from engaging in the same conduct. However, this is rare in medical malpractice cases as the courts require extremely specific proof of malice to award these extraordinary awards.