How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds an object foreign to the body such as surgical clamps in her body after gall bladder surgery may sue for medical malpractice. A successful claim must establish the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviation from this duty, direct causes, and injury.

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

Cause of Injury

A medical malpractice case can be initiated by the patient who was injured or by a person legally appointed to represent them. Based on the circumstances, this may be the spouse of the patient, an adult child or parent, a guardian ad litem, or the administrator or executor of the estate of the patient who died. The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit is the health professional. This could be a nurse, doctor or therapist, or any other licensed health professional.

Expert testimony is typically required in malpractice cases. Medical experts must provide evidence to prove that the medical professional was acting in accordance with the standards of medical care within their specific field of expertise. They must also testify as to the harm caused by the actions or inactions of the doctor.

The injuries that result from malpractice and negligence can be quite severe. A misdiagnosis can have serious consequences, like the possibility of a life-threatening illness. Other kinds of injuries include performing surgery on the wrong body part or putting instruments inside the patient during surgery.

The patient must establish four legal elements in a malpractice case: a duty owed to the patient by the physician; a breach of this obligation; an injury resulting by the breach; and the consequential damages. In certain states, like New York the law limits the amount of money awarded for a malpractice case.

Causation

The injury element, also known as causation is one of the most important elements in a medical malpractice case. To prove causation, a plaintiff must show that they suffered their injury on the basis of probabilities as a result of the physician's negligence. This can be a difficult task due to several reasons.

Many of the injuries that are the basis of a ashland medical malpractice law firm negligence lawsuit stem from chronic conditions that existed prior to when treatment started. The time period for filing medical malpractice cases can be extended over the course of several years and injuries may develop slowly.

In these situations it is often difficult to prove that one particular medical professional's breach of the standards of care caused the injury. The attorney may have gathered evidence, such as expert testimony and medical records that the injured person could use.

During the process of discovery, which is a part of the legal process preparation for a trial, your lawyer can request the defendants' lawyers disclose expert testimony and other documents. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit is then called to testify during depositions, which are the testimony under an oath. Your lawyer can cross-examine the doctor and contest the doctor's findings. The jury will then decide whether the plaintiff has established the necessary elements of their claim, which includes duty, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

The plaintiff must convince the jury when bringing a claim for medical malpractice, that it is likely that the doctor did not fulfill his or her responsibilities as physician and that the violations caused injury. The plaintiff's attorney has to be able to prove this by utilizing evidence gathered during discovery. This involves the request of documents, including medical records as well as other documents from all parties in the lawsuit. Depositions, in which the statements are made under oath and recorded for trial, are also part of this process.

A doctor violated his or her professional duty in the event that he or her did something that a reasonably prudent doctor would not do under similar circumstances. However it must be established that the breach directly caused injury to the patient. This is known as causation or proximate causes. For example an individual goes to the hospital for a hernia operation and ends up having his or his gall bladder removed instead. This is medical negligence because the removal was not beneficial for the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a certain timeframe, also known as the statute of limitations. This is different from state to state. The injured patient must establish that the negligent care caused injury, and then he or she must demonstrate the amount of compensation they are entitled to.

Damages

If medical negligence has caused you to sustain an injury, you deserve to be made whole. Scaffidi & Associates can help you get fair and complete compensation for your losses.

The first step is to file and serve an order and complaint on all defendants named in the lawsuit. The parties then begin discovery, a process in which documents and declarations are made public under an oath. During discovery, medical records and doctor's notes are usually requested.

In the majority of states, to receive compensation for injuries caused by malpractice, you have to establish four elements including a duty of good faith owed by the healthcare provider, a breach of this obligation; a causal connection between the breach and injury; and damages caused by the injury. If your attorney can demonstrate all of these elements in a muskegon medical Malpractice law firm negligence claim, you'll have a convincing case.

In certain cases courts may make punitive damages available, which are intended to punish the perpetrator and discourage others from engaging in similar misconduct. However, this is rare in medical malpractice cases, as courts require precise proof of malice before they can make these extraordinary awards.