Medical Malpractice Settlement Tools To Help You Manage Your Daily Life Medical Malpractice Settlement Trick Every Individual Should Know

How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

If a patient discovers that an object foreign to her, such as surgical clamps, remains in her body following gall bladder surgery could file a medical malpractice lawsuit. A successful claim must establish the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviation from this obligation, direct cause and injury.

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

Causes of Injury

A medical malpractice claim can be filed either by the victim or an attorney. Based on the circumstances, it could be the spouse of the patient or an adult child, parent, guardian ad-litem or administrator or executor of the estate of the deceased patient. In a medical negligence case the defendant is the health care provider. This could be a nurse, doctor or therapist, or any other health professional.

Malpractice cases usually require many expert witnesses. Medical experts must be able to prove whether or the medical professional adhered to the standards of care for their particular field. They must also testify to the harm caused by the doctor’s actions or inactions.

The consequences of malpractice and negligence can be extremely serious. For instance, a wrong diagnosis of a health issue could have life-threatening consequences. Other kinds of injuries include operating on the wrong part or leaving instruments inside the patient during surgery.

To establish a malpractice claim the patient has to prove four legal elements: a duty the physician owed to them; a breach of this duty; a resultant injury and damages. In certain states, such as New York, the law sets a limit on the amount of money that can be awarded in a malpractice claim.

Causation

The injury element, also known as causation, is one the most crucial elements in a medical malpractice case. To prove causation the plaintiff must show that they suffered their injury on the balance of probabilities because of the negligence of the doctor. This is a challenging task due to a variety of reasons.

Many injuries that are the basis for a medical negligence lawsuit result from long-term illnesses or conditions that existed prior to when treatment began. Often the statute of limitation for a medical malpractice claim extends over a variety of years, and injuries can develop gradually.

In these cases it is necessary to prove that a medical professional's breach of the standard of care and led to the injury is a challenge. The attorney could have collected evidence, such as expert testimony and medical records, that the injured patient could use.

During the discovery process, which is a part of the legal process for preparing for trial, your lawyer may ask for the disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from lawyers of the defendants. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit will then be asked to give evidence during a deposition, which is testimony given under the oath. Your lawyer may cross-examine the doctor and contest their conclusions. The jury will decide then if the plaintiff has established the essential elements of their case such as the duty of care, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

When a medical negligence claim is filed the plaintiff has to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the physician committed a breach of professional duties and that the breaches caused injuries. The plaintiff's lawyer must demonstrate this using evidence collected during discovery. This includes seeking documents, such as medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, in which statements are made under oath and recorded for use in trial, are also part of this process.

A doctor has breached their professional obligation in the event that they did something a reasonable prudent physician would not have done under the same 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 repair a hernia, and instead, have their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice because the removal of the gall bladder was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally prescribed time frame, known as the statute of limitations, which varies according to the state. The injured patient must establish that the care provided was substandard and caused injury and then show how much compensation he or her deserves.

Damages

If medical negligence has caused you to suffer injury, you are entitled 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 then engage in discovery. This is where documents and statements are presented under the oath. Medical records and notes of the doctor are usually requested during discovery.

In most states, to receive compensation for injuries sustained by malpractice, you have 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 that result from the injury. If your attorney can prove all these elements in a medical negligence claim, you'll have a convincing case.

In certain instances the court can award punitive damage, which is meant to punish the perpetrator and deter others from engaging in similar acts. This is not the norm, however, in medical malpractice cases. The courts must have clear evidence of malice before they are able to give these extraordinary damages.