What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical malpractice claim is brought by an individual who is unhappy with the carelessness of a healthcare professional. The patient, or or his or her estate in the case of a deceased patient, must establish that the negligence caused injury or harm.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are typically filed in state trial courts. The patient who is suffering from the injury must prove four legal elements to win the case:

Duty of care

To establish a legal claim, a plaintiff needs to show that he or she was legally obligated to perform a duty by an individual or a company and that they failed to meet the obligation. In medical malpractice cases, this involves a physician's duty to provide their patients with a proper standards of medical care. Expert testimony is typically used to determine this.

Expert witnesses help determine the appropriate medical standards and then explain how a doctor did not follow the guidelines in their treatment of the patient. A plaintiff's medical malpractice attorney must then prove that the deviation was directly responsible for the victim's injury.

Expert testimony is vital, as jurors are often unfamiliar with anatomy and seen a variety of medical dramas. In the case of medical malpractice this is crucial as it is often difficult to establish the appropriate standard of care. In the context of a medical malpractice claim, the standard of care refers to the level of expertise, quality of treatment and the level of diligence displayed by other doctors with similar specialties under similar circumstances.

The majority of experts in medical malpractice cases are surgeons or fellow doctors with similar qualifications and board certifications. Due to the "conspiracy of silence" among many doctors (a term lawyers employ to describe the tendency of doctors to not admit to a case against each other), it can be challenging to find an expert with the qualifications to provide evidence against a colleague in relation to inadequate care.

Breach of duty

Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor makes an error that hurts the patient. These errors can cause new injuries, or worsen existing ones. Medical malpractice claims are complicated issues and laws, which makes them difficult to prove. A good medical malpractice attorney will examine your case to determine if a doctor has violated their obligation to you.

Your attorney will establish there was a doctor-patient connection between you and your physician, which is a requirement for any malpractice claim. Your attorney will also review the actions and decisions of your physician to determine if they meet what is known as the standard of care for doctors of similar education, background and geographic location in your state.

Doctors owe it to their patients to adhere to these standards, without deviation or omission. A breach of duty implies that the physician did not meet your expectations, and this has resulted in injury to you.

Proving the breach of duty usually straightforward with the help of the research of your attorney and expert witnesses. Those experts can testify as to why the doctor's actions did not meet the standards of care and describe how a different bridgeton medical malpractice lawsuit professional in similar circumstances might have different actions. Your lawyer must also tie the breach of duty to your injuries and damages. Your attorney will scrutinize your medical documents, test and prescription results, imaging scans, and prescriptions to create an argument that the breach of duty committed by your doctor directly led to your injuries.

Causation

Medical mistakes can increase the risk of many treatments. To prove the causation, an injured patient must prove a direct connection between the alleged negligence of a doctor and their injury. In the majority of cases, expert testimony is required as well as assistance from a medical malpractice attorney.

Medical errors can be, for example, misdiagnosing serious diseases or conditions. If a doctor fails to recognize cancer or other conditions can have severe consequences for patients. In this instance, the patient could suffer in pain that is not needed and could even end up dying. By failing to diagnose the condition correctly the doctor could have committed a malpractice.

Proving that a medical professional or hospital failed to treat you appropriately can be difficult and time-consuming. The evidence needed could include numerous sources, such as medical records and test results, as and expert witness testimony and oral depositions. Your lawyer can assist you in obtaining and understanding the evidence as well as assisting you during the process of depositions.

It is also important to note that only healthcare professionals is liable for malpractice. In contrast to receptionists in medical centers nurses and doctors must act in accordance with prevailing standards of care. This means that a medical professional should be able to foresee consequences depending on their experience and education.

Damages

In medical malpractice cases the courts consider monetary damages intended to compensate the injured patient. These damages may include past and future medical bills, lost wages, the disfigurement caused by pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. In certain cases punitive damages can also be awarded. These are reserved for particularly egregious conduct that society has an interest in stopping.

A medical malpractice case usually begins with the filing of a civil summons and complaint in court. The parties then begin discovery. This is a process which requires the plaintiff and defendants to are required to give testimony under oath. This can include the request of medical records, for instance, taking depositions of parties involved in a lawsuit, and interviewing witnesses.

In a claim for medical malpractice it is crucial to establish that the doctor medical malpractice attorney was legally bound to provide treatment and medical care to the patient. The second part is that the doctor violated this duty by not adhering to the standard of medical practice. The third factor is that the breach caused injury to the patient.

It is important to note that the statute of limitations (the legally prescribed period within which a medical malpractice claim must be filed) differs from state to state. In New York, the statute of limitations is two years and Medical Malpractice Attorney six months (30 months) from the date on the date that the underlying cause of medical malpractice took place.