Why Is There All This Fuss About Medical Malpractice Settlement

How to File a Medical Malpractice law firm Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers an object foreign to the body such as surgical clamps inside her body following gall bladder surgery could bring a lawsuit against a doctor for medical negligence. A successful claim must prove the elements of medical malpractice: duty, deviation from the norm and direct cause.

It is essential for our clients to establish a direct causal connection between the breach of duty and the resulting injury called proximate causation.

Causes of Injury

A medical malpractice claim may be filed by the injured person or an attorney. It could be the spouse or adult child, parent, guardian or administrator of the estate of a deceased person, based on the circumstances. The plaintiff in a lawsuit for medical malpractice lawyer malpractice is the health care provider. This could be a nurse, doctor, therapist or any other health professional.

Malpractice cases usually require many expert witnesses. Medical experts are required to be able to testify that the healthcare provider did what was required of care in their particular field of expertise. They also need to testify on the injury that was caused by the doctor's actions or inactions.

The consequences of malpractice and negligence can be very severe. For example, a mistake in the diagnosis of a health condition can have life-threatening effects. Other types of injuries could include performing surgery on the wrong body part or leaving instruments inside the patient during surgery.

The patient must establish four legal elements of a malpractice claim: a duty owed to the patient by the physician or a breach of the duty; an injury caused by the breach; and resulting damages. In certain states like New York the law limits the amount of money awarded for a malpractice case.

Causation

The injury element, also referred to as causation, is one of the most important elements in medical malpractice cases. To establish causation, the plaintiff must prove that their injury was the result of the doctor's negligence. This is a difficult task due to a variety of reasons.

For example, many injuries that are the basis of a medical malpractice law firms malpractice lawsuit stem from long-term, or ongoing conditions that were present before treatment began. The time period for filing a medical malpractice case can be extended for a number of years and injuries can develop slowly.

In these instances it is necessary to prove that a medical professional's violation of the standard of care which led to the injury is a challenge. The attorney could have gathered evidence, such as medical records and expert testimony that the patient who was injured can utilize.

During the discovery process, which is part of the legal procedure preparation for trial, your lawyer will ask for the disclosure of expert testimony as well as other documents from defense attorneys of the defendants. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit will then be asked to give evidence during a deposition, which is testimony given under an oath. Your lawyer can cross-examine the doctor and contest the doctor's findings. The jury will then decide whether the plaintiff has established the essential elements of their case including duty, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

If a claim for medical malpractice is filed the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor violated professional duties and that the breached duties caused injury. The attorney representing the plaintiff must demonstrate this through evidence collected during discovery. This includes the request of documents, including medical records, from all parties involved in a lawsuit. Depositions, in which statements are made under oath and recorded for use at trial, are also part of this process.

A doctor has breached their professional obligation in the event that they did something a reasonable and prudent doctor would not have done in similar circumstances. However it must be established that the breach directly caused the injury to the patient. This is called causation or proximate causes. A patient may go to the hospital in order to have a hernia repaired, but end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice as the removal of the gall bladder was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within the legal period, referred to as the statute of limitations. This differs from state-to-state. The injured patient has to prove that the negligent treatment caused injury, and then they must establish what compensation they are entitled to.

Damages

If a medical error has caused you to sustain an injury, you deserve to be made whole. At Scaffidi & Associates, we can assist you in obtaining an adequate and fair amount of compensation for your losses.

The first step is filing and serving an order and complaint on all named defendants in the lawsuit. The parties engage in discovery. This is a process in which documents and declarations are revealed under the oath. During discovery, medical records and notes from a doctor will typically be sought.

In most states, you need to establish four elements to be compensated for injuries caused by medical malpractice that is a duty owed by the healthcare provider and a breach of the duty; a causal link between the breach and the patient's injury and damages resulting from the injury. If your lawyer can prove all these elements in a medical negligence claim, you will have a strong case.

In certain cases the court can make punitive damages available, which are intended to punish the offender and deter others from committing the same offense. However, this is rare in medical malpractice cases, as the courts require extremely specific proof of malice to give these extraordinary awards.