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How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers an object foreign to the body like surgical clamps, remains in her body after gall bladder surgery could pursue a medical malpractice suit. A successful claim must establish the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviance from this duty, direct cause, and injury.

Our clients must establish a direct link between the breach of duty and the injury. This is referred to as proximate cause.

Causes of Injury

A medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed either by the injured person or an attorney. Based on the circumstances, this may be the spouse of the patient, an adult child or parent, a guardian ad Litem or the administrator or executor of the estate of the patient who died. In a medical negligence case, the defendant is the health care provider. This could be a doctor, nurse or therapist, or any other licensed health professional.

Malpractice cases typically involve a lot of expert testimony. Medical experts must provide evidence to prove that the healthcare provider did what was required of medical care within their special area of expertise. They also have to testify to the damage caused by the doctor’s actions or inactions.

Injuries that result from malpractice or negligence can be quite severe. For instance, a wrong diagnosis of a health problem could cause life-threatening complications. Other types 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 and a breach of this obligation; an injury resulting by the breach; and resulting damages. In some states such as New York the law limits the amount of money awarded for a malpractice claim.

Causation

The injury element is called the causation. It is among the most important elements in a medical malpractice attorney malpractice claim. To prove causation, a plaintiff must show that they sustained the injury on the basis of probabilities as a result of the negligence of a physician. This can be a challenging job due to various reasons.

A lot of the injuries that form the basis of a medical malpractice attorneys negligence lawsuit result from long-term illnesses or conditions that existed prior to when treatment began. Often the statute of limitation for a medical negligence claim extends over a number of years, and injuries may develop slowly.

In these instances, proving that a medical professional's failure to adhere to the standard of care that led to the injury can be difficult. However, the aggrieved patient could be able to make use of evidence collected by the attorney, like medical documents and expert testimony.

In the discovery process, which is a part of the legal process prepping for a trial your attorney can request that the defendants' lawyers disclose expert testimony and other documents. The doctor who is defending the case will be required to testify in a deposition. This is a declaration that is made under oath. Your lawyer can challenge doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide if the plaintiff has proven the elements of the case, including duty, breach and causation.

Negligence

When a medical malpractice claim is filed in court, the plaintiff must to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor breached his or her professional duties and that those breaches caused injuries. The attorney representing the plaintiff must be able to prove this by utilizing evidence gathered during discovery. This includes the request of documents, including medical records and other records from all parties in the lawsuit. Depositions, where statements are made under oath, and recorded for trial, are also a part of this procedure.

A doctor has violated their professional obligation when they did something that a reasonable prudent physician would not have done in the same circumstances. It must be proven that the breach caused injury directly to the patient. This is referred to as causation, or proximate causes. A patient could go to the hospital to repair a hernia and instead, have their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice since the removal of the gall bladder was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally defined period of time, referred to as the statute of limitations, which varies by state. The person who suffered the injury must show that the inadequate treatment caused injury, and they must show what compensation they deserve.

Damages

You deserve to be compensated for any injuries you have suffered as a result of medical negligence. At Scaffidi & Associates, we can help you receive full and fair compensation for your losses.

The first step in a lawsuit is to file and serve a complaint, summons and other documents on all defendants. The parties then proceed to discovery, a process by which documents and statements are disclosed under an oath. Medical records and notes of the doctor are typically sought during discovery.

In the majority of states, to receive compensation for injuries caused by malpractice, you have to prove four things that include a duty of care that the healthcare provider is obligated to perform and a breach of that obligation; a causal connection between the breach and injury and damages resultant from the injury. If your attorney can demonstrate all of these aspects of a medical negligence claim, you'll have a strong case.

In some instances, courts can make punitive damages available, which are intended to punish the offender and deter others from engaging in similar conduct. This isn't often however, especially in medical malpractice cases. The courts must be able to prove evidence of malice before they may give these extraordinary damages.