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What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical malpractice claim involves the patient claiming the negligence of a healthcare professional. The patient, or his or her estate in the case of a deceased patient, must show that the negligence caused injury or harm.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are typically filed in state trial courts. To prevail in a lawsuit, the party who is claiming damages must demonstrate four legal elements:

Duty of care

In any legal claim, the plaintiff needs to prove that a person or entity owed them a duty of care and failed to meet that duty. In medical malpractice cases it is a physician's duty to provide their patients with the right standards of treatment. Expert testimony is often used to determine this.

Expert witnesses can help determine the proper standards for medical treatment and then reveal the ways in which a physician has deviated from these standards when treating a patient. A medical malpractice lawyer for a plaintiff must prove that the deviation was directly accountable for the injury of the victim.

Using expert testimony is essential since jurors typically do not have a good understanding of anatomy and have watched several medical dramas. In the case of medical malpractice this is crucial because it is often difficult to establish the standards of care. In a medical malpractice case the standard of care refers to the degree of skill of the practitioner, the quality of treatment, and the degree of diligence shown by other doctors in comparable areas of expertise in similar circumstances.

Experts in medical malpractice cases are usually surgeons or physicians who have a similar education and certification. Due to the "conspiracy of silence" between a variety of doctors (a term lawyers employ to describe the tendency of doctors not to be able to testify against each other) it can be challenging to find an expert with the qualifications to testify against a colleague regarding sub-standard care.

Breach of duty

Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor commits a mistake that harms the patient. These errors can lead to new injuries or make preexisting ones worse. Medical malpractice claims are difficult to prove due to complex laws and issues. An experienced medical malpractice attorney will examine your case to determine whether a doctor has violated their obligation to you.

Your attorney will determine if there was a doctor-patient connection between you and your doctor, which is necessary for any malpractice claim. Your attorney will also analyze the actions and decisions of your physician to determine if they meet what is referred to as the standard of care for doctors of similar training, experience and geographic location in your state.

Doctors owe it to their patients to follow these standards without omission or deviation. In breach of this duty, the doctor did not fulfill these standards and resulted in harm to you.

Proving the breach of duty is usually simple with the help of the research of your attorney and expert witnesses. Experts can testify to why the doctor's actions did not meet the standards of medical care and then explain how a medical professional in similar circumstances would have performed differently. Your lawyer should also tie the breach of duty to your injuries and damages. Your lawyer will review your medical documents, test and prescription results, imaging scans, and prescriptions to create an argument that proves the breach of duty committed by your doctor directly led to your injuries.

Causation

Medical errors can increase the risks of a wide range of treatments. To prove the causation, an injured patient must establish an unambiguous connection between the alleged negligence of a doctor and the injury. In many cases, expert testimony is required, along with assistance from an attorney who specializes in medical malpractice.

For instance, a mistake in diagnosing a condition or a serious illness is a common error. If a doctor fails to diagnose cancer or another condition the result could have devastating consequences for the patient. In this instance, the patient could suffer unnecessarily pain and may even end up dying. If the doctor failed to diagnose the problem correctly, the doctor may have committed a mistake.

Proving that a doctor or hospital failed to treat you appropriately isn't easy and takes a lot of time. Evidence could come from a number of sources, including medical records, test results, expert witness testimony and depositions. Your lawyer can assist you with obtaining and interpreting the evidence as well being your advocate during the process of depositions.

It is also important to note that only a healthcare professional can be sued for misconduct. Nurses and doctors, in contrast to receptionists at medical centers, are expected to adhere to current standards of care. A medical malpractice attorneys professional should have the ability to predict the outcome based on their education and experience.

Damages

In medical malpractice cases the courts consider monetary damages to compensate the injured patient. The damages may include the cost of medical bills in the past or in the future as well as loss of earnings in the event of pain and discomfort disfigurement or loss of enjoyment of living. In some cases, punitive damages are granted in certain cases. These are awarded only to criminal acts that society is trying to discourage.

A medical malpractice lawsuit typically begins with the filing of an civil summons and complaint in court. The parties will then proceed to discovery. It is a process which requires the plaintiff and defendants to give statements under oath. This could involve asking for medical records and depositions of the parties involved in a lawsuit, and interviewing witnesses.

In a claim for medical malpractice law firms malpractice it is essential to prove that the physician was legally bound to provide treatment and medical care to the patient. The second aspect to establish is that the doctor did not fulfill the obligation by failing to adhere to the medical standard of care. The third element is that the breach caused harm to the patient.

It is crucial to understand that the statutes of limitations (the legally-defined time period within which an action for medical malpractice must be filed) differ from state to state. In New York, the statute of limitations is two years and six months (30 months) from the date on when the underlying incident of medical malpractice took place.