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How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Bringing a medical malpractice suit against a doctor or hospital requires proof that the defendant violated his or her duty to patients. This evidence could include hospital and medical documents.

Our lawyers have experience taking effective depositions of witnesses. They could be doctors, other medical professionals who are working in private practice or are employed at a hospital or clinic.

Negligence

Patients have a right to receive certain standards of care when they visit a hospital, doctor, or health care professional. Unfortunately these standards aren't always met, or even violated. This can lead to devastating consequences.

A lawsuit can be filed against a medical professional if patients are injured or suffers a death due to the negligence of the physician. To be able to file a valid lawsuit the injured person must establish four legal aspects that include breach of duty, breach of duty, causation and damages.

Malpractice is defined as an act or omission committed by an individual physician that is in violation of the accepted norms of medicine within the medical profession, and inflicts harm on the patient. It is a subset of tort law, which deals with civil wrongs that do not fall under contractual duties or criminal offenses.

Medical negligence is distinct from regular negligence in that the victim must prove that the physician was aware that their actions could cause harm to claim malpractice, but normal negligence doesn't. A surgeon who accidentally nicks or cuts an artery or nerve during surgery is guilty of negligence, but not negligence. This is because the doctor didn't intend to harm anyone.

In a medical malpractice case the defendant is bound by the obligation of treating the patient in accordance with the standard of care a reasonably competent healthcare professional with comparable knowledge and experience in similar circumstances would offer. The violation of this duty is a critical element since it proves that the alleged negligence caused the injury.

Damages

In a case of malpractice damages are calculated based on your losses due to a physician's negligence. They can be a combination of financial losses, such as the costs of future medical treatment, and non-economic losses such as pain and suffering.

In order to obtain damages, it is necessary to demonstrate that a doctor did not fulfill a duty and that his deviance from the standard of care resulted in injuries, and the damage resulted in measurable financial costs. This is a difficult legal analysis that typically requires expert witness testimony.

Certain of these losses can be spotted quickly, for example, if a doctor's mistake caused an infection or any other medical condition which required additional treatment. Some damages are more difficult to see, such as when doctors misdiagnose your condition and you are unable to receive the right treatment.

If your doctor's malpractice leads to your death then you can sue for wrongful death. You may seek punitive damages in addition to the amount you'd receive in a case of survival.

In most states there are limits on the amount you can recover in a legal case. These caps differ from state to state and are generally applicable to both economic and other damages. Some states also have rules that limit how long you can wait to bring a lawsuit.

Time Limits

As with all lawsuits there are certain time limits to be adhered to or the case could be barred. Generally speaking, a medical malpractice lawsuit must be filed within two to six months of the medical decatur malpractice lawsuit that occurred. The deadline for filing a malpractice lawyer lawsuit varies from state to state.

It is important to talk with an attorney as soon as possible. The law firm will conduct an investigation to determine if there was any malpractice and whether the case will stand up in court. This stage takes several weeks or even months.

Medical malpractice cases are governed by different laws and the statute of limitations is often modified. For example in Pennsylvania patients must submit a claim within two years from the day they discovered the malpractice or the date a reasonable person would have known that the harm existed. This is known as the discovery rule.

In other states, the statute of limitations begins at the time the malpractice happened. This is an issue if the error does not immediately trigger symptoms. Imagine, for instance that a doctor negligently left a foreign body inside the body of a patient following surgery. The patient might not find the foreign object until three or more years after surgery. In this situation the statute of limitations may have started in the year following the date of the procedure, Decatur Malpractice lawsuit not necessarily the moment of discovery.

Expert Witnesses

Expert witnesses are frequently called upon to explain the facts in medical malpractice cases. An expert witness for a plaintiff will provide testimony regarding the doctor's duty of providing medical care to the patient, the medical standards in the area and in the specialty of that type of physician with the same qualifications and experience and the ways the defendant violated the standards. The expert will discuss how the defendant's departure directly caused the patient's injury.

The defendant will employ an expert to challenge the plaintiff’s expert, and Decatur Malpractice Lawsuit offer their professional opinion on whether the doctor met the requirements of medical care. The experts may disagree but the fact-finder will decide which expert is most reliable.

It is advisable for the expert to be working in the medical field since they are more knowledgeable about the current practices. Jurors and judges often believe that practicing professionals are more credible than experts whose only source of income is testimony in court.

It is also preferable to hire an expert witness who has expertise in the field of fraud. For example a medical professional who is proficient in treating breast cancer can provide an argument that is more convincing about the reason for the plaintiff's injury. A medical malpractice attorney in Ocala knows which experts to talk to.