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How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

The filing of a medical aliso viejo malpractice lawsuit lawsuit against a hospital or doctor requires evidence that the defendant acted in breach of his or her obligation to patients. This evidence could include hospital and medical documents.

Our attorneys are experienced at taking depositions that are effective for witnesses. These may be doctors or other medical professionals in private practice, or staff members at a hospital or clinic.

Negligence

When a patient sees a doctor, hospital or health care professional they are entitled to certain standards of medical care. Unfortunately, in some instances these standards are not adhered to or even violated. This can lead to devastating consequences.

When someone suffers injury or death due to a doctor’s negligence, they can pursue a lawsuit against the medical professional. To prove a case, an injured patient must establish four legal elements that include breach of duty, breach of duty, causation and damages.

Malpractice can be defined as an action by the doctor that is against the accepted norms within the medical community and causes injury to the patient. It is a subset of tort law, which deals with civil violations that are not legally binding or criminal in nature.

Medical negligence differs from normal negligence because the victim must prove that the physician knew or should have known that their actions would cause harm in order to claim malpractice, but normal negligence does not. For example, a surgeon who accidentally creates a cut on a vein or nerve during surgery could be guilty of negligence but not malpractice as the doctor did not intend to cause harm.

In a medical malpractice case the defendant’s obligation is to treat the patient in accordance with the standards of care a knowledgeable health professional with similar experience and expertise could provide in similar situations. The breach of this duty is a critical element since it proves that the negligent act caused the injury.

Damages

In a malpractice case damages are calculated based upon your losses due to a physician’s negligence. These can include both actual financial loss, like the cost of future medical expenses, and non-economic losses like pain and suffering.

In order to obtain damages, it is essential to prove that a doctor violated the duty of care, that his deviation from the standard of care resulted in injuries, and the damage resulted in financial losses that are quantifiable. This is a complicated legal analysis that usually requires expert witness testimony.

Certain of these losses can be seen quickly, for example the case where a doctor’s error resulted in an infection or any other medical condition that require additional treatment. Other losses are not as evident, for instance, if your doctor misdiagnoses you, and you are not able to receive the appropriate treatment.

You can sue for wrongful death when a doctor’s negligence caused your death. You may seek punitive damages in addition to the money you would receive in a survival lawsuit.

In most states, there are limits on what you can receive in a lawsuit for malpractice. These caps vary by state and typically apply to both economic and non-economic damages. Some states also have rules that limit the time it takes to start a lawsuit.

Time Limits

Like any lawsuit, there are time limits which must be adhered to, or the case may be barred. A malpractice lawsuit should generally be filed between two and six years following the time when the mishap occurred. The time frame varies by state.

It is important to talk with an attorney as soon as you can. The law firm will conduct an investigation to determine if there was paradise valley malpractice lawsuit and whether the case will stand up in court. This stage can take weeks or even months.

Medical malpractice cases have different laws than other types of cases and the statute of limitations is changed. For instance, in Pennsylvania the patient must file a claim within 2 years of the date they were aware of the Ashland malpractice lawsuit, or when a reasonable individual should have realized the injury existed. This is known as the discovery rule.

In other states, the statute of limitations begins at the time the malpractice happened. This is problematic if the act does not immediately cause symptoms. Consider, for instance, that a doctor has negligently left a foreign object in the patient’s body after surgery. The patient might not discover the object until three years after the surgery. In this instance the statute of limitations could have begun beginning from the date of the procedure, not necessarily the discovery of error.

Expert Witnesses

Many medical malpractice cases depend on experts to present the facts of the case. An expert witness for the plaintiff will testify about the doctor’s duty to the patient, the medical standards for physicians who have similar qualifications in the area and specialty and the ways in which the defendant departed from those standards. The expert will explain why the defendant’s omission directly caused the patient’s injury.

The defendant will contract an expert to challenge the plaintiff’s expert, and provide their professional opinion about whether the doctor’s treatment was consistent with requirements of medical care. It is normal for experts to disagree with one other, but the fact finder determines who is the most reliable based on their knowledge and experience.

It is recommended for the expert to be still working in the medical field because they are more knowledgeable about current practice. Judges and jurors tend to find practicing professionals more credible than experts who rely solely on court testimony.

It is also better to hire an expert who is specialized in the area of malpractice. For example an expert in medical practice who is experienced in treating breast cancer could make a a more convincing argument about the reason for an injury suffered by a plaintiff. A seasoned Ocala medical malpractice lawyer will be aware of which expert witnesses to refer your case.