How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds that an object foreign to the body like surgical clamps, is still inside her body after gall bladder surgery can file a medical malpractice lawsuit. A successful lawsuit must prove the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviance from this duty, direct causes, and injury.

It is important for our clients to establish a direct link between the breach of duty and the harm, known as proximate causation.

Causes of Injury

A claim for medical malpractice can be filed either by the person who suffered the injury or an attorney. This could be the spouse or adult child, parent, guardian or administrator of the estate of a deceased person depending on the specific circumstances. In a case of medical malpractice, the defendant is the health care provider. This could be a licensed nurse, doctor or therapist.

Malpractice cases usually require many expert witnesses. Medical experts must be able to prove whether or whether the healthcare provider adhered to the standards of treatment in their specific field. They also have to testify to the harm that was caused by the doctor's actions or inactions.

Accidents caused by negligence or negligence can be very serious. A misdiagnosis can have serious consequences, such as an illness that could be life-threatening. Other types of injuries include operating on the wrong part or putting instruments inside the patient during surgery.

The patient must establish four legal elements in a malpractice claim which include a duty to the patient by the doctor and a breach of that duty; an injury caused by the breach; and the resulting damages. In some states such as New York the law limits the amount of money that can be awarded for a malpractice case.

Causation

The injury element is also known as the causation. It is one of most important elements in a medical negligence claim. To prove causation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that they suffered their injury on the balance of probabilities because of the physician's negligence. This can be a difficult task due to a variety of reasons.

Many injuries that are the basis of a medical negligence lawsuit stem from long-term illnesses or issues that existed before treatment began. Often the statute of limitation for a medical malpractice lawsuit is extended over a period of years, and injuries may develop slowly.

In these instances it is often difficult to prove that one particular medical professional's violation of the standards of care caused the injury. The attorney may have collected evidence, like medical records and expert testimony which the injured patient may use.

During the discovery process, which is a part of the legal procedure for getting ready for trial, your lawyer will request the disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from the defendants' attorneys. The doctor who is representing the case will be asked to take deposition. This is a testimonies that's given under an oath. Your lawyer will be able to challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has proved the elements of the case including breach of duty, breach of contract and causation.

Negligence

The plaintiff must convince jurors, when bringing a claim for medical malpractice that it is more likely that the doctor did not fulfill his or her responsibilities as a physician and that those breaches resulted in injury. The attorney representing the plaintiff must be able to prove this by utilizing evidence obtained during discovery. This involves requesting documents, including medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. The process also involves sworn statements that are recorded and used at trial.

A doctor has violated their professional duty when they did something that an ordinary prudent doctor would not have done in similar circumstances. It must be proved that the breach caused injury directly to the patient. This is known as causation or causal proximate causes. Patients may visit a hospital to have a hernia fixed, however, they end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice as the removal of the gall bladder did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally regulated time frame, known as the statute of limitations, that varies from state to state. The injured patient must establish that the care provided was substandard and caused injury, and then show how much compensation he or she is entitled to.

Damages

If a medical error has caused you to suffer an injury, you deserve to be compensated. At Scaffidi & Associates, we will assist you in receiving an adequate and fair amount of compensation for your losses.

The first step is filing and serving a summons and complaint to all defendants named in the lawsuit. The parties then begin discovery, a process by which documents and statements are made public under an oath. During discovery newport news medical malpractice law firm records and notes from a doctor will typically be sought.

In the majority of states, you have to prove four things to be compensated for any injuries caused by medical malpractice such as a duty due to the healthcare provider and a breach of the duty; a causal relationship between the breach and the patient's injury; and damages that flow from the injury. If your lawyer can prove all of these elements, then you've got an argument for vimeo financial compensation in a medical negligence claim.

In some cases the court can make punitive damages a possibility that is intended to punish the wrongdoer and deter others from engaging in similar conduct. This isn't often however, particularly in medical malpractice cases. The courts must have a clear evidence of malice before they may decide to award these extraordinary damages.