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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 in her body after gall bladder surgery can bring a lawsuit against a doctor for medical malpractice. A successful lawsuit must establish the elements of medical malpractice: duty, deviance from this duty and the direct cause.

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

The reason for injury

A medical negligence case may be filed by the injured person or a legal person to represent them. Based on the circumstances, this may be the spouse of the patient, an adult child or parent, a guardian ad-litem or executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased patient. In a medical negligence case the defendant is the health care provider. This could be a licensed doctor, nurse or therapist.

Expert testimony is often required in malpractice cases. medical Malpractice law firm experts must be able to testify that the health care provider acted within the standard of care in his or her specific field of expertise. They also have to testify to the harm resulting from the doctor's actions or inactions.

Accidents caused by negligence or mistakes can be catastrophic. For instance, a wrong diagnosis of a health issue could have life-threatening consequences. Other kinds of injuries involve operating on the wrong body part or putting surgical instruments in the patient.

To establish a malpractice claim the patient must prove four legal elements: a duty the doctor owed to them; a breach of the breach; a resulting injury; and damages. In some states, like New York, the law restricts the amount that can be awarded for an injury resulting from a malpractice claim.

Causation

The injury element, also referred to as causation, is one the most important elements in a medical malpractice case. To establish causation the plaintiff must demonstrate that their injury was the result of the doctor's negligence. This can be a challenging job due to various reasons.

For instance, many injuries that are the subject of a medical malpractice lawsuit arise from long-term or ongoing ailments that were in the process of being treated prior to. Often the statute of limitation for a medical malpractice claim extends over a number of years, and the injuries may develop slowly.

In these instances the proof that a medical professional's violation of the standard of care and led to the injury is not easy. However, the aggrieved patient might be able use evidence collected by the attorney, like medical documents and expert testimony.

During the discovery process, which is a component of the legal process for prepping for trial, your lawyer may request disclosure of expert testimony as well as other documents from lawyers of the defendants. The doctor who is defending the case will be asked to testify in deposition. This is a declaration that's given under an oath. Your lawyer may challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has established the elements of the case, including duty, breach and causation.

Negligence

The plaintiff must convince the jury, when filing a claim for medical malpractice in court, that it is more likely that the doctor acted in violation of his or her obligations as a physician and that those actions led to injury. The plaintiff's attorney has to demonstrate this through evidence collected during discovery. This includes soliciting documents, including medical records as well as other documents from all parties in the lawsuit. The process also involves the recording of sworn statements and used at trial.

A doctor has violated his or her professional obligations if he or she did something that a reasonable prudent doctor would not do under similar circumstances. It must be proved that the breach was the cause of the injury directly to the patient. This is known as causation or proximate cause. For instance when a patient is taken to the hospital for a hernia operation and is later told that he or his gall bladder removed instead. This is medical negligence as the procedure did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally regulated period of time, also known as the statute of limitations which varies according to the state. The victim must prove that the negligent care caused injury, and then he or she must demonstrate the amount of compensation he or she is entitled to.

Damages

If medical negligence caused you to suffer an injury, you have the right to be made whole. At Scaffidi & Associates, we can assist you in obtaining full and fair compensation for your loss.

The first step is filing and serving the complaint and summons to all defendants named in the lawsuit. The parties then engage in discovery. This is a process where documents and evidence are presented under the oath. During discovery medical records and notes from a doctor are usually requested.

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

In certain instances courts may decide to award punitive damages. These are intended to penalize the offender and deter others from engaging in the same conduct. However, this isn't the norm in medical malpractice cases, since courts require clear evidence of malice to make these extraordinary awards.