How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds a foreign object such as surgical clamps inside her body following gall bladder surgery is able to file a lawsuit for medical negligence. 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 referred to as proximate cause.

Causes of Injury

A Urbana medical malpractice lawyer malpractice claim may be filed by the person who was injured or an attorney. This could be the spouse, adult child parent, guardian, or administrator of the estate of a deceased person, depending on the circumstances. The defendant in a suit for medical negligence is the health professional. This could be a nurse, doctor, therapist or any other licensed health professional.

Malpractice cases usually involve many expert witnesses. brownfield medical malpractice lawsuit experts must provide evidence to prove that the medical professional was acting in accordance with the standards of treatment in their specific area of expertise. They must also testify regarding the injury that was caused by the physician's actions or inactions.

The consequences of malpractice and negligence can be very severe. A mistake in diagnosis can have devastating consequences, like the possibility of a life-threatening illness. Other types of injuries can be caused by operating on an incorrect body part or putting surgical instruments in the patient.

In order to establish a malpractice case the patient has to prove four legal elements: a duty the physician owed to them; a breach of the breach; a resulting injury and damages. In some states such as New York the law limits the amount of money that can be awarded for a malpractice claim.

Causation

The element of injury is known as the causation. It is one of the most important aspects of a medical malpractice claim. To prove causation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that their injury was caused by the physician's negligence. This is a difficult task for a number of reasons.

For instance, many of the injuries that are the subject of a medical-malpractice lawsuit stem from long-term or ongoing ailments that were in the process of being treated prior to. The statute of limitations on a medical malpractice case can be extended over a period of time, and injuries can develop slowly.

In these instances it is often difficult to prove that a certain medical professional's violation of the standards of care caused the injury. The attorney may have gathered evidence, such as expert testimony and medical records, that the injured patient could use.

In the discovery process which is an element of the legal process the preparation of a trial your lawyer may request that the lawyers of the defendants provide expert testimony and other documents. The doctor defending the lawsuit will then be called to testify during a deposition, which is testimony that is under an oath. Your lawyer can challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide if the plaintiff has proven that the allegations of the case are true including breach of duty and causation.

Negligence

If a claim for medical malpractice is filed, the plaintiff will have to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor did not perform his or her professional duties and that the breaches caused harm. The plaintiff's attorney must prove this by using evidence collected during discovery. This includes requesting documents, including medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. This process also involves sworn statements that are recorded and used at trial.

A doctor has violated their professional duty by doing something that reasonable and prudent doctors would not have done in similar circumstances. However it must be established that the breach directly caused injury to the patient. This is referred to as causation or proximate cause. For example, a patient goes to the hospital for a procedure to treat a hernia and is then able to have his or her gall bladder removed instead. This is medical negligence as the procedure was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally prescribed period of time, also known as the statute of limitations which is different for each state. The victim must demonstrate that the treatment was substandard and resulted in injury, and after that they must establish what compensation they are entitled to.

Damages

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

The first step in a lawsuit is to make a complaint and serve it or summons, as well as other documents on all defendants. The parties then begin discovery, a procedure in which documents and statements are made public under oath. During discovery medical records and doctor's notes will typically be sought.

In most states, you need to prove four things in order to be compensated for any injuries caused by medical malpractice such as a duty due to the healthcare provider; a breach of that obligation; a causal connection between the breach and the injury suffered by the patient; and damages that flow from the injury. If your lawyer can prove all these aspects of a medical negligence claim, you will have a convincing case.

In certain instances the court might make punitive damages a possibility that is intended to punish the perpetrator and discourage others from committing similar crimes. However, this is not the norm in medical malpractice cases, as the courts require extremely specific proof of malice to award these extraordinary awards.