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How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds an object foreign to the body such as surgical clamps within her body after gall bladder surgery may make a claim for medical malpractice. A successful claim must demonstrate the elements of medical malpractice: duty, deviance from this duty and direct reason.

It is vital for our clients to establish a direct relationship between the breach of duty and the resulting injury called proximate causation.

Cause of Injury

A medical negligence case may be filed by the person who has been injured or a legal person to act on their behalf. Based on the specific circumstances, it could be the spouse of the patient or an adult child, parent, a guardian ad-litem or administrator or executor of the estate of the deceased patient. The plaintiff in a suit for medical negligence is the health care provider. This could be a nurse, doctor or therapist, or any other health care professional.

Expert testimony is often required in malpractice cases. apple valley medical malpractice attorney experts are required to testify on whether or whether the healthcare provider followed the standard of care in their specific field. They must also testify as to the harm caused by the actions or inactions of the doctor.

Injuries resulting from malpractice and negligence can be quite severe. An incorrect diagnosis can lead to serious consequences, including life-threatening conditions. Other types of injuries could include operating on the wrong part or leaving instruments inside the patient during surgery.

The patient must establish four legal elements of a malpractice lawsuit which include a duty to the patient by the physician and a breach of this obligation; an injury resulting by the breach; and the consequential damages. In some states, like New York, the law restricts the amount of money that could be awarded in an injury resulting from a malpractice claim.

Causation

The injury element is also called the causation. It is one of most important aspects of a medical malpractice claim. To prove causation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that their injury was caused by the doctor’s negligence. This can be a challenging job due to a variety 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. The time limit for a medical malpractice case could be extended over the course of several years, and injuries can develop slowly.

In these instances, it is difficult to prove that one particular medical professional’s failure to adhere to the standard of care led to the injury. The attorney could have collected evidence, including medical records and expert testimony which the injured patient could use.

During the discovery process, which is a part of the legal procedure for prepping for trial, your lawyer can seek disclosure of expert testimony as well as other documents from defense attorneys of the defendants. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit is then asked to give evidence during depositions, which are testimony under an oath. Your lawyer can challenge the doctor’s findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has substantiated that the allegations of the case are true, including duty, breach and causation.

Negligence

When a medical malpractice claim is filed the plaintiff has to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor violated professional duties and those breached duties caused injuries. The plaintiff’s attorney has to demonstrate this using evidence gathered during pretrial discovery. This involves requesting documents, including medical records from all parties involved in a lawsuit. The process also involves swearing statements that are recorded and used in trial.

A doctor has violated their professional obligation by doing something that reasonable and prudent doctors would not have done in similar circumstances. It must be established that the breach resulted in injury directly to the patient. This is called causation or proxy causes. For instance the patient is admitted to the hospital for a procedure to treat a hernia and is later told that he or her gall bladder removed instead. This is medical malpractice as the removal of the gall bladder was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally-defined time frame, known as the statute of limitations, which varies according to the state. The injured patient must establish that the negligence caused injury, and then prove the amount of financial 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 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 proceed to discovery, a procedure in which documents and statements are revealed under an oath. During discovery, medical records and doctor’s notes will typically be sought.

In most states, in order to be eligible for compensation for injuries incurred by malpractice, you need to establish four elements that include 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 resultant from the injury. If your attorney can establish all of these elements, you have a strong case for financial compensation in a medical negligence claim.

In some instances, courts can make punitive damages available, which are designed to punish the wrongdoer and deter others from engaging in similar conduct. However, this is not the norm in medical malpractice cases, since courts require evident proof of malice in order to give these extraordinary awards.