Felipe Snelling asked 8 months ago
How to File a Medical Malpractice Case
A patient who finds that a foreign object like surgical clamps, remains inside her body after gall bladder surgery may file a medical malpractice lawsuit. A successful lawsuit must establish the elements of medical negligence: duty, deviation from this duty and direct cause.
It is crucial for our clients to establish a direct relationship between the breach of duty and the injury that is known as proximate causation.
Causes of Injury
A medical negligence case may be initiated by the patient who was injured or by a person legally appointed to represent them. Depending on the circumstances it could be the spouse of the patient or an adult child, parent, a guardian ad-litem or executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased patient. In a case involving medical malpractice the defendant is the health care provider. It could be a licensed doctor, nurse or therapist.
Malpractice cases typically involve many expert witnesses. Medical experts are required to testify as to whether the doctor was acting in accordance with the standards of treatment in their specific field of expertise. They also have to testify to the harm caused by the doctor’s actions or inactions.
Injuries that result from malpractice or negligence can be quite severe. A mistake in diagnosis can have devastating consequences, such as life-threatening conditions. Other types of injuries include operating on the wrong body part or leaving instruments inside the patient during surgery.
In order to prove a malpractice case, the patient must prove four legal elements: a duty the doctor owed to them; a breach of the breach; a resulting injury and damages. In some states, such as New York, the law puts a limit on amount of money that can be awarded in an injury resulting from a malpractice claim.
Causation
The injury element is also called the causation. It is among the most important aspects of a medical malpractice claim. To establish causation the plaintiff must prove that their injury was caused by a physician’s negligence. This can be a difficult task due to several reasons.
For instance, a lot of injuries that are the cause of a medical negligence lawsuit arise from long-term or ongoing conditions that were present prior to treatment. Often, the statute of limitations for a medical negligence claim extends out over a number of years, and the injuries may develop slowly.
In these instances it is difficult to prove that a medical professional’s breach of the standard of care that led to the injury is a challenge. The attorney could have collected evidence, like expert testimony and medical records that the patient who was injured can use.
During the discovery process, which is an integral part of the legal process for preparing for trial, your lawyer could request disclosure of expert testimony and other evidence from defense attorneys of the defendants. The doctor defending the lawsuit will be asked to testify during depositions, which are testimony under the oath. Your lawyer can challenge the doctor’s findings and cross-examine them. The jury will then decide if the plaintiff has proven the essential elements of their case including duty, breach, causation and injury.
Negligence
The plaintiff must convince the jury in a case of medical malpractice to show that it is likely that the doctor did not fulfill his or her obligations as a physician and that those violations caused injury. The lawyer representing the plaintiff must prove this using evidence gathered through pre-trial discovery, which involves asking for disclosure of documents such as medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, in which the statements are made under oath and recorded to be used at trial, are also a part of this process.
A doctor has violated his or her professional obligation if he or she did something that a prudent doctor would not do under the same circumstances. However it must be proven that the breach directly caused the injury to the patient. This is known as causation or proximate cause. For instance, a patient goes to the hospital for a procedure to treat a hernia and ends up having his or his gall bladder removed instead. This is medical negligence since the procedure was not beneficial to the patient.
Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a legally-defined time frame, known as the statute of limitations, Medical Malpractice which varies according to the state. The victim must prove that the negligent treatment resulted in injury, and after that they have to prove the amount of compensation they deserve.
Damages
You should be compensated for any injuries you have suffered due to medical negligence. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive a fair and complete 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 participate in discovery, in which documents and declarations are made public under the oath. During discovery, medical records and doctor’s notes will typically be sought.
In the majority of 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 and a breach of the duty; a causal link between the breach and the injury suffered by the patient as well as damages that result from the injury. If your lawyer can prove all of these elements, you can make a an extremely strong case for financial compensation in a medical negligence claim.
In certain cases the court can award punitive damages, which are intended to penalize the culprit and deter others from engaging in the same conduct. This isn’t often however, especially in medical malpractice cases. The courts must have very clear evidence of malice before they may award these extraordinary damages.