How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers an object that is foreign, for example, surgical clamps in her body following gall bladder surgery could make a claim for medical negligence. A successful claim must establish the legal aspects of medical negligence: duty, deviation from this duty, direct cause, and injury.

It is important for our clients to establish a direct causal connection between the breach of duty and the injury called proximate causation.

Cause of Injury

A claim for medical malpractice can be filed either by the person who suffered the injury or a legal representative. Based on the specific circumstances, this could be the spouse of the patient or an adult child, parent, guardian ad litem, or the executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased patient. The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit is the health professional. It could be an accredited doctor, nurse or therapist.

Expert testimony is typically required in malpractice cases. Medical experts must testify as to whether the health care provider did what was required of treatment in their specific field of expertise. They also have to testify about the harm caused by the physician's actions or actions or.

The injuries that result from malpractice and negligence can be extremely serious. For instance, a wrong diagnosis of a medical condition could have life-threatening effects. Other kinds of injuries include operating on the wrong body part or putting instruments inside the patient during surgery.

To prove a malpractice case the patient must demonstrate four legal elements: a duty the doctor owed them; a breach in the breach; a resulting injury; and damages. In certain states, like 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 a medical malpractice case. To establish causation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that they suffered their injury on a balance of probabilities because of the physician's negligence. This can be a challenging task for a number of reasons.

Many injuries that are the basis for medical negligence lawsuits result from long-term or ongoing conditions which were present before treatment began. Often the statute of limitations for a claim involving medical malpractice extends over a variety of years, and the injuries can develop gradually.

In these instances it is often difficult to prove that a specific medical professional's violation of the standard of care caused the injury. The attorney could have gathered evidence, such as medical records and expert testimony which the injured patient can utilize.

In the discovery process that is part of the legal procedure for preparation for a trial, your attorney can request that the lawyers of the defendants provide expert testimony and other documents. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit is then asked to testify during depositions, which are the testimony under an oath. Your lawyer can cross-examine the doctor and contest their findings. The jury will then decide whether the plaintiff has proved the essential elements of their case, including duty, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

The plaintiff must convince jurors, when filing a claim for medical malpractice in court, that it is likely that the doctor violated his or her responsibilities as physician and that the actions led to injury. The lawyer for the plaintiff must demonstrate this with evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which includes asking for disclosure of documents such as medical records from all parties who are involved in the lawsuit. This process also includes the recording of sworn statements and used at trial.

A doctor has violated his or her professional duty when he/she did something that a reasonably prudent physician would not do under similar circumstances. However, it must be proven that the breach directly caused the injury to the patient. This is referred to as causation or proximate causes. A patient may go to the hospital to have a hernia fixed, however, they end up having their gall bladder removed. This is canton medical malpractice lawsuit negligence since the procedure was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice suits must be filed within a legal timeframe, also known as the statute of limitations. This varies from state to state. The injured patient must establish that the care provided was substandard and caused injury and then he or she must demonstrate the amount of compensation he or her deserves.

Damages

If medical negligence has caused you to suffer a traumatic injury, you deserve to be made whole. At Scaffidi & Associates, we will assist you in receiving full and fair compensation for your losses.

The first step in a lawsuit is to make a complaint and serve it, summons and other documents on all defendants. The parties are involved in discovery. This is a procedure where documents and statements are presented under oath. Medical records and the notes of the doctor are usually requested during discovery.

In many states, to get compensation for injuries caused by malpractice, you need to prove four things: a duty of care due to the healthcare provider and a breach of that obligation; a causal connection between the breach and injury; and damages caused by the injury. If your attorney can prove all these elements in a medical negligence claim, you will have a strong case.

In some cases the court can give punitive damages, which is meant to punish the perpetrator and discourage others from committing similar crimes. However, this isn't the norm in jackson medical malpractice attorney malpractice cases, as the courts require extremely precise proof of malice before they can give these extraordinary awards.