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What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical malpractice lawsuit is brought by the patient who complains about the carelessness of a healthcare professional. The patient, or his or her estate in the case of a deceased patient, must establish that the negligence caused injury or harm.

Lawsuits alleging medical malpractice are generally filed in state trial courts. To prevail in a lawsuit the aggrieved party has to demonstrate four legal elements:

Duty of care

In order to prove a legal claim, a plaintiff needs to show that he or she was legally obligated to perform a duty by another person or organization and that they failed to perform it. In medical malpractice cases this is the responsibility of medical professionals to provide the highest quality of care to their patients. This is typically determined through expert testimony.

Expert witnesses can assist in determining proper standards for medicine and then show the ways in which a physician has deviated from these standards in treating a patient. A lawyer representing a plaintiff for medical malpractice needs to demonstrate that the deviation caused the victim's injuries.

Using expert testimony is essential because jurors generally are not aware of anatomy, and they watch several medical dramas. This is especially relevant when it comes to medical malpractice claims, as it can be difficult to establish a standard of care. In a medical malpractice claim, the standard refers to the level of expertise and care quality, as well as degree of diligence other physicians in similar specialties can demonstrate under similar circumstances.

The majority of experts in medical malpractice cases are surgeons or physicians with similar qualifications and board certifications. Due to the "conspiracy of silence" among a number of doctors (a term lawyers use to describe the tendency of doctors not to testify against each other), it is often difficult to find an expert who is qualified to be a witness against a colleague for the care that is not up to par.

Breach of duty

If a doctor makes an error that harms the patient, this is medical malpractice. These mistakes can lead to new injuries or even worsen existing ones. Medical malpractice claims can be complicated laws and issues, making them difficult to prove. An experienced medical malpractice attorney will examine your case to determine if a physician has violated their obligation to you.

Your attorney will determine if there was a doctor-patient connection between you and your physician, which is necessary for any malpractice claim. Your attorney will look into the decisions and actions of your physician to determine the level of care in your state for doctors who have similar training, backgrounds, and geographic location is in place.

Physicians are required by their patients to abide by these standards, without deviation or omission. A breach of that duty means that the doctor was not able to meet those expectations and that failure resulted in harm to you.

Proving the breach of duty is generally straightforward with the aid of the research of your attorney and expert witnesses. These experts can testify that the doctor's actions were not in accordance with the standard of medical care and provide reasons why a different medical professional would have behaved differently in similar circumstances. Your lawyer must also tie the breach of duty with your injuries and damages. Your lawyer will look over your medical records, test and prescription results, imaging scans and prescriptions to create an argument that proves the breach of duty by your physician directly caused your injuries.

Causation

Most treatments come with some degree of risk, however medical errors can add to those risks. To prove causation, the patient must establish an immediate connection between the negligence of the doctor and their injury. In many cases this requires expert testimony and the assistance of a medical malpractice lawyer.

For example, not diagnosing an illness or disease is a common error. If doctors fail to recognize cancer or another illness, it can have severe consequences for the patient. In this situation the patient may suffer in pain that is not needed and could even end up dying. By failing to diagnose the condition properly the doctor could have committed a lapse of judgment.

Proving that your doctor or hospital was negligent in the treatment you received is a lengthy and difficult process. Evidence can come from a number of sources, including medical records, test results, expert witness testimony and depositions. An attorney can help you locate and interpret the evidence, and also represent you during the deposition process.

It is important to keep in mind that only healthcare professionals is liable for malpractice. Nurses and doctors, as opposed to receptionists in medical facilities, are expected to adhere to current standards of care. A medical malpractice law firms professional should have the ability to predict consequences based on his or qualifications and education.

Damages

In medical malpractice claims courts will hear about financial damages to compensate the victim. These types of damages can include past and future medical bills, lost wages, disfigurement and pain and loss of enjoyment of life. In some cases punitive damages could also be awarded. These are reserved for the most egregious behaviour that society is interested in deterring.

A Medical Malpractice Law Firms malpractice case begins with the filing in court of an administrative summons. Then, the parties will engage in discovery, a procedure through which the plaintiff and defendants make statements under oath. This could include requesting the exchange of documents such as medical records, deposing those who are involved in the lawsuit, and conducting interviews with witnesses.

One of the first elements to prove in a medical negligence case is that the doctor had the legal obligation to provide medical treatment and care to the patient. The second element is that the doctor violated that obligation by not adhering to the medical standard of care. The third factor is that the breach resulted in harm to the patient.

It is important to know that the statutes of limitations (the legally-required time frame within which an action for medical malpractice has to be filed) vary from state to the state. In New York, there is a statute of limitations of two years and six months (30 months) after the date of the medical malpractice.