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How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers that an object foreign to the body, such as surgical clamps, is still inside her body following gall bladder surgery may file a medical malpractice lawsuit. A successful lawsuit must establish the elements of medical negligence: duty, deviation from the norm and direct cause.

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

Causes of Injury

A medical malpractice claim can be filed either by the person who suffered the injury or an attorney. It could be the spouse, adult child, parent, guardian or administrator of the estate of a deceased patient, depending on the circumstances. The defendant in a lawsuit for medical malpractice is the health care provider. This could be a doctor, nurse or therapist, or any other health professional.

Malpractice cases usually require many expert witnesses. andover medical malpractice lawyer experts are required to be able to testify that the healthcare provider performed his duties in accordance with the standard of care in his or her particular field of expertise. They must also testify about the injury that was caused by the physician's actions or inactions.

Injuries caused by negligence and mistakes can be catastrophic. A misdiagnosis could have grave consequences, such as an illness that could be life-threatening. Other types of injuries include operating on the wrong part or leaving instruments inside the patient during surgery.

The patient must prove four legal elements in a malpractice case which include a duty to the patient by the physician and a breach of that duty; injury caused by the breach and the consequential 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, also referred to as causation is one of the most important aspects of medical malpractice cases. To prove causation, the plaintiff must prove that they sustained their injury on the basis of probabilities due to of the negligence of the doctor. This can be a challenging task for a number of reasons.

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

In these instances, proving that a medical professional's breached the standard of care which led to the injury can be difficult. However, the patient who was hurt could be able to use the evidence gathered by the attorney, including medical records and expert testimony.

During the process of discovery as part of the legal procedure for preparation for a trial, your lawyer may request that the lawyers of the defendants provide expert testimony and other documents. The doctor who is representing the case will be required to appear in deposition. This is a statement that is given under oath. Your lawyer will be able to cross-examine doctor and contest their conclusions. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has proved that the allegations of the case are true including breach of duty, breach of contract and causation.

Negligence

The plaintiff must convince jurors, when bringing a lawsuit for medical malpractice that it is likely that the doctor did not fulfill his or her responsibilities as medical professional and that these breaches resulted in injury. The lawyer representing the plaintiff must demonstrate this with evidence gathered through pre-trial discovery, which involves asking for disclosure of documents such as medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. This also includes the recording of sworn statements and used at trial.

A doctor has violated their professional obligation in the event that they did something a reasonable and prudent doctor would not have done in the same circumstances. However it must be proved that the breach directly caused the injury to the patient. This is referred to as causation or proximate causes. Patients may visit a hospital to have a hernia repaired, and instead, have 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 filed within a legally prescribed period of time, also known as the statute of limitations, which is different for each state. The victim must prove that the negligence caused injury, [Redirect-302] and then show how much compensation he or she deserves.

Damages

If a edwardsville medical malpractice attorney error has caused you to suffer a traumatic injury, you are entitled to be compensated. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive a fair and complete compensation for your losses.

The first step in a lawsuit is to file and serve a complaint or summons, as well as other documents on all defendants. The parties then participate in discovery, a process by which documents and statements are disclosed under the oath. During discovery, medical records and notes from a doctor will typically be sought.

In the majority of states, to be eligible for compensation for injuries incurred by malpractice, you need to establish four elements: a duty of care that is due to the healthcare provider, a breach of this obligation; a causal connection between the breach and injury; and damages that result from the injury. If your lawyer can prove all of these elements, then you've got a strong case for financial recovery in a claim for medical malpractice.

In certain cases the court could decide to award punitive damages, which is meant to penalize a wrongdoer and discourage others from committing similar crimes. But, this isn't often the case in medical malpractice cases, as the courts require extremely precise proof of malice before they can make these extraordinary awards.