How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds an object foreign to her body, such as surgical clamps in her body following gall bladder surgery could bring a lawsuit against a doctor for medical negligence. A successful claim must demonstrate the elements of medical malpractice: duty, deviation from this duty and the direct cause.

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

Causes of Injury

A medical malpractice case can be filed by the injured person or by a person legally appointed to act on their behalf. Based on the specific circumstances, this could be a spouse of the patient, an adult child or parent, a guardian ad litem, or the executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased patient. The defendant in a medical malpractice suit is the health professional. This could be a nurse, doctor or therapist, or any other health professional.

Malpractice cases usually involve the testimony of experts. Medical experts must testify as to whether or whether the health professional followed the standard of care for their particular field. They also need to testify on the injury that was caused by the physician's actions or actions or.

The consequences of negligence and mistakes can be catastrophic. A mistake in diagnosis can have devastating consequences, such as an illness that could be life-threatening. Other types of injuries include operating on the incorrect body part or Medical Malpractice Law Firm leaving surgical instruments inside the patient.

In order to establish a malpractice claim the patient must demonstrate four legal elements: a duty the doctor owed to them; a breach in this duty; a subsequent 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 is also known as the causation. It is one of most crucial elements in a medical negligence claim. To establish causation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that they suffered an injury based on a balance of probabilities as a result due to the negligence of the doctor. This is a challenging job due to various reasons.

For example, many injuries that are the subject of a medical-malpractice lawsuit are the result of long-term or ongoing ailments that were in the process of being treated prior to. The statute of limitations on a medical malpractice lawsuit can be extended over the course of several years and injuries can develop slowly.

In these cases it can be difficult to prove that a particular medical malpractice attorney professional's breach of the standard of care caused the injury. The attorney could have collected evidence, like expert testimony and medical malpractice law firm records which the injured patient can use.

During the process of discovery, which is a part of the legal procedure for the preparation of a trial your lawyer may request that the lawyers representing the defendants disclose expert testimony and other documents. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit will be asked to give evidence during a deposition, which is testimony given under an oath. Your lawyer may challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will then decide whether the plaintiff has established the necessary elements of their case, including obligation, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

When a medical malpractice claim is filed in court, the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor breached his or her professional duties and that the breached duties caused injuries. The plaintiff's attorney must prove this by using evidence collected during discovery. This includes requesting documents, including medical records, from all parties involved in the lawsuit. This process also involves sworn declarations that are recorded and used at trial.

A doctor has breached their professional duty if they did something an ordinary prudent doctor would not have done in the same circumstances. It must be established that the breach resulted in injury directly to the patient. This is known as causation or proximate causes. For instance an individual goes to the hospital for a hernia operation and is then able to have his or her gall bladder removed instead. This is medical malpractice because the removal of the gall bladder did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a legally prescribed period of time, Medical malpractice law firm referred to as the statute of limitations which varies by state. The patient who is injured must prove that the care provided was substandard and caused injury and then he or she must show how much compensation he or she deserves.

Damages

If medical negligence has caused you to sustain an injury, you deserve to be compensated. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive a fair and complete compensation for your losses.

The first step is to file and serve a summons and complaint to all named defendants in the lawsuit. The parties participate in discovery. It is a process which involves the disclosure of documents and statements disclosed under an oath. Medical records and notes of a doctor are typically requested during discovery.

In the majority of states, you need to prove four things to be compensated for any injuries caused by medical malpractice such as a duty due to the healthcare provider; a breach of that obligation; a causal connection between the breach and the injury suffered by the patient and the damages that result from the injury. If your attorney can establish all of these elements, you have a strong case for financial recovery in a medical negligence claim.

In some instances, courts can make punitive damages available, which are intended to punish the wrongdoer and deter others from engaging in similar conduct. However, this is rare in medical malpractice cases, because the courts require precise proof of malice before they can give these extraordinary awards.