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How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers that a foreign object, such as surgical clamps, is still inside her body following gall bladder surgery may file a medical malpractice law firm malpractice lawsuit. A successful lawsuit must prove the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviance from this duty, direct cause, and injury.

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

Cause of Injury

A medical malpractice case can be filed by the injured person or by a person legally appointed to represent them. This can be the spouse, adult child guardian, parent or administrator of an estate belonging to a deceased patient depending on the circumstances. The plaintiff in a medical malpractice suit is the health professional. This could be a doctor, nurse or therapist, or any other health professional.

The majority of cases involving malpractice involve many expert witnesses. Medical experts must determine if the medical professional performed his duties in accordance with the standard of medical care within their specific area of expertise. They must also testify as to the harm caused by the actions or inactions of the doctor.

The consequences of malpractice and negligence can be very severe. For instance, a misdiagnosis of a health problem could have life-threatening consequences. Other kinds of injuries include operating on the wrong body part or putting surgical instruments in the patient.

The patient must establish four legal elements of a malpractice lawsuit which include a duty to the patient by the doctor; a breach of this obligation; a harm caused by the breach and the resulting damages. In some states such as New York the law limits the amount of money awarded in a malpractice case.

Causation

The injury element, also known as causation is one of the most important aspects of a medical malpractice case. To prove causation, a plaintiff must show that they sustained the injury on the balance of probabilities as a result due to the negligence of the doctor. This is a challenging job due to various reasons.

Many injuries that are the basis of a medical negligence lawsuit result from long-term illnesses or issues that existed before treatment started. The time period for filing a medical malpractice case could be extended for a number of years and injuries can develop slowly.

In these instances, it is difficult to prove that a specific medical professional's breach of the standard of care caused the injury. However, the person who was harmed could be able to use evidence gathered by the attorney, like medical records and expert testimony.

During the discovery process, which is an integral part of the legal procedure for prepping for trial, your lawyer could seek disclosure of expert testimony and other evidence from lawyers of the defendants. The doctor who is representing the case will be asked to take a deposition. This is a declaration that is made under the oath. Your lawyer can cross-examine the doctor and contest their conclusions. The jury will then decide whether the plaintiff has proved the necessary elements of their case, including breach of duty, causation, breach of duty and injury.

Negligence

If a claim for medical malpractice is filed the plaintiff has to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor violated professional duties and that those breaches caused harm. The attorney representing the plaintiff must demonstrate this through evidence gathered during discovery. This includes requesting documents, including medical records as well as other documents from all parties in the lawsuit. Depositions, in which the statements are made under oath and recorded for trial, are also a part of this procedure.

A doctor was in breach of his or her professional obligation when he/she did something that a reasonable prudent doctor would not do in the same circumstances. It must be proven that the breach was the cause of the injury directly to the patient. This is referred to as causation or proximate cause. For example, a patient goes to the hospital for a hernia procedure and is then able to have his or the gall bladder removed instead. This is medical malpractice since the removal of the gall bladder was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice suits must be filed within a specific legal time frame, also known as the statute of limitations. This differs from state to state. The patient who was injured must prove that the negligent treatment caused injury, and they have to prove the amount of compensation they are entitled to.

Damages

If a medical error has caused you to suffer a traumatic injury, you deserve to be made whole. Scaffidi & Associates can help you get fair and complete compensation for your losses.

The first step is filing and serving a complaint and medical Malpractice summons on all named defendants in the lawsuit. The parties engage in discovery. This is which involves the disclosure of documents and statements made public under oath. Medical records and notes of the doctor are usually requested during discovery.

In many states, to get compensation for injuries caused by negligence, you must 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 medical malpractice injury and damages caused by the injury. If your attorney can establish all of these elements, you have a strong case for financial compensation in a medical malpractice lawsuit malpractice case.

In some cases the court might give punitive damages that is designed to punish the perpetrator and deter others from engaging in similar conduct. This is rare, however, in medical malpractice cases. The courts must be able to prove evidence of malice before they are able to award these extraordinary damages.