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Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice attorney can help injured victims get compensation for their losses. The legal system that governs medical malpractice cases is founded on common law.

According to common law, doctors are expected to adhere to a certain level of care when treating patients. If a doctor violates accepted medical practice and results in injury or death, the doctor could be held accountable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of standards which are recognized by the medical profession as being reasonable and prudent in their medical care. Patients may be in a position to file a lawsuit for medical malpractice if these standards aren't adhered to and the failure results in injury or health complications.

The first element of a malpractice lawsuit is to prove that you had a doctor-patient relationship with the healthcare provider at issue and that the entity or person was bound to act in a reasonable manner. The next step is to prove that the breach occurred. This is usually accomplished by an expert witness that can provide an objective analysis and evaluation.

This expert witness will be able help determine whether or not the defendant's actions were below the standard of care that is accepted in the particular case. The expert will need to look over your medical malpractice lawsuit records and interview or cross-check you to make this determination.

You must be able to demonstrate that the breach directly led to your injury. This is known as causation and it is the third element of a negligence claim. In the majority of cases, you'll need a direct cause and result connection between the breach of duty and medical malpractice attorney the resulting injury. A misdiagnosis for instance can result in prescriptions for the wrong drug or treatment being given. This could cause an adverse reaction, such as heart attacks.

Breach of Duty

Physicians, like all other people, have a legal obligation to behave with reasonable care and with caution. However, doctors are held to an even higher standard because they are considered experts in medicine and have to make life and death decisions. The responsibility of medical care is described in the law and standards that are situated for specific types of procedures and treatments.

One of the first elements that must be established in a negligence claim is that the defendant was bound by a duty of care to the plaintiff. It must be proved that the defendant did not fulfill this duty of care. This means that the doctor did not meet the standard of care in the specific circumstance. The quality of care is usually determined by what a normal person would do under the same situation. For instance an honest driver would not speed through an intersection with a red light.

In a malpractice case experts may be required to testify regarding the standard of care that was violated and how this standard was breached. They can also provide a detailed explanation of the cause of the injury and what could have been done to avoid it from happening.

Damages

Physicians in the United States are required to carry malpractice insurance to cover the risk of losses resulting from medical negligence. To make an action for damages, the plaintiff must show actual financial losses (such as medical malpractice lawyers expenses and lost wages) as well as non-economic losses (such as pain and suffering).

The amount of compensation you receive in a successful lawsuit is contingent upon how well your New York medical malpractice settlement malpractice attorney fights for your losses. Your lawyer will establish your medically necessary expenses through a review of your medical records, evidence from experts as well as the assistance of economic experts. In order to establish your loss of earnings Your medical malpractice lawyer has to establish the number of days you were absent from work because of your medical complications and the fact that these days off work resulted from the defendant's negligence.

Non-economic losses can be more difficult to prove and may require the assistance of a professional who will provide evidence of your physical, emotional, and mental suffering as a result of negligence of the defendant. Other types of non-economic losses include loss of consortium, which is an inability to maintain a sexually satisfying and loving relationship as you did with your spouse or significant other. The lawyer for the defendant will contest your non-economic damages with the help of depositions and interrogatories as well as requests for documents or medical malpractice attorney sworn statements.

Statute of limitations

In New York, as with every state, there are specific deadlines - commonly referred to as statutes of limitation within which a medical negligence lawsuit must be filed or otherwise it could be dismissed by the courts. A New York medical malpractice attorney who has experience will be familiar with the nuances of these deadlines and will ensure that your claim is submitted before the deadlines specified by law.

In most cases, the victim of medical negligence is required to file a lawsuit within two-and-ahalf years from the time the act or omission of the health professional caused injury or death. As with all laws, this law is not without exceptions. For instance, if the error made by the health care professional was part of a continuous course of treatment, the 30-month mandatory "clock" will not begin until the course of treatment is completed or the patient learns about the diagnosis.

In some instances, a patient may not realize the problem until quite a while later, for example in the event that a foreign substance remains in the body following surgery or treatment. For this reason, most states have adopted a legal concept called the discovery rule, which allows injured victims to extend these deadlines under certain circumstances. Your attorney will be familiar with the rules of your state and will go over the timeline of your case carefully to avoid mistakes in the administration that could impede your claim.