Medical Malpractice Litigation

Medical malpractice lawsuits can be complicated and time-consuming. Both defendants and plaintiffs are also legally required to pay an expensive price.

In order to receive the financial compensation sought in a malpractice lawsuit, the injured patient must prove that inadequate medical treatment caused injury. This requires establishing four legal elements which include professional duty, breach of duty or breach, injury, and damages.

Discovery

The most important aspect of a medical negligence case is the gathering of evidence. This can be accomplished by means of written interrogatories or requests for documents. Interrogatories are questions that must be answered under swearing by the opponent to the lawsuit. They are used to establish the facts needed to be used in trial. Demands for the production of documents allow for tangible items to be obtained such as rincon medical malpractice lawsuit records or test results.

In many cases, your attorney will take the defendant physician's deposition which is recorded as a question-and-answer session. This permits your lawyer to ask the physician or witnesses questions that might not be allowed at trial and can be extremely effective in cases with expert witnesses.

The information you gather during discovery before trial will be used to prove your claim in court.

Breach of the standard of care

Injuries resulting from a breach of the normal care

Proximate causation

A doctor's failure to apply the level of knowledge and skill held by doctors in their area of specialty and that proximately resulted in injury to the patient

Mediation

Medical malpractice trials are necessary, but they also have many disadvantages. For plaintiffs they are stressed, and the expense and the commitment to trial can have a negative psychological impact on them. For defendant health professionals, a trial could result in humiliation as well as a loss of prestige. It can also have negative effects on their career as well as practice, since the monetary payments they receive as part of settlements prior to trial are reported to national databases of practitioners as well as the state medical licensing board, and medical societies.

Mediation is a cost-effective time-efficient, risk-effective, and efficient way to resolve cases of medical negligence. Parties are able to negotiate more freely as they don't have the cost of a trial and the possibility of the verdicts of juries to be undermined.

Each side must submit a brief summary of the case for the mediator prior to mediation (a "mediation brief"). In this stage, parties will usually communicate through their lawyer, not directly. Direct communication could be used as evidence against them in court. If the mediation continues it's a good idea for you to focus on your case's strengths, and be prepared to acknowledge its weaknesses. This will allow the mediator to fill in any gaps and make you an appropriate offer.

Trial

The aim of tort reformers is to devise an appropriate system for remuneration of those who suffer injury due to medical negligence quickly and at a reasonable cost. Many states have implemented tort-reform measures to cut costs and to stop frivolous claims for medical malpractice.

The majority of doctors in the United States carry malpractice insurance to safeguard themselves against claims of professional negligence medical cases. Some of these policies might be required by a medical or hospital group as a condition for the right to practice.

In order to be able to claim the financial compensation for injuries caused by the negligence of a medical professional the patient who has suffered injury must prove that the doctor failed to meet the standard of care that is applicable in his or her field. This is referred to as proximate cause, and is an important part of a medical malpractice claim.

A lawsuit begins when a civil summons is filed with the court of your choice. Once this is complete both parties must engage in the process of disclosure. This involves written interrogatories and the production of documents, such as medical records. Depositions (in which attorneys question deponents under the oath) as well as requests for admission are also involved.

In a medical malpractice claim the burden of proof is high. Damages are awarded based upon both economic losses (such as lost income or the expense of future medical treatment) as well as non-economic damages like pain and discomfort. In the event of pursuing a claim based on medical malpractice, it is important to hire a skilled lawyer.

Settlement

Settlements are the simplest method to settle medical malpractice lawsuits. In general, the actual dollar value of a case is negotiated between the plaintiff and the defendants (often through or alongside the defendant's malpractice/professional liability insurer). The victim receives an amount of money that is then paid to the plaintiff lawyer, who deposits it in an escrow account. The lawyer will then deduct the case expenses and legal fees per the representation agreement, and the injured patient receives compensation.

In order to prevail in a medical malpractice lawsuit, the aggrieved patient has to prove that a physician or other healthcare professional owed them a duty of care, but violated that duty by failing exercise the requisite degree of expertise and knowledge in their field, that in the proximate consequence of the breach, the patient suffered injuries, and that those injuries are quantifiable in terms of financial loss.

In the United States, there are 94 federal district courts that are comparable to state trial courts. Each of these courts has an ad hoc jury and judge panel that hears cases. In certain situations medical malpractice cases can be transferred to one of these courts. Physicians in the United States typically carry medical malpractice insurance to safeguard themselves against claims of unintentional harm or wrongdoing. Doctors must be aware of the structure and functioning of our legal system so that they are able to respond appropriately to a claim brought against them.