What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical malpractice claim is brought by a patient who complains about the carelessness of a healthcare professional. The patient (or his or her estate if the patient has passed away) must prove that the negligence resulted in injury or harm.

In general, lawsuits claiming medical negligence are filed in state court. The patient who is suffering from the injury must prove four legal elements to prevail in a case:

Duty of care

In order to prove a legal claim, a plaintiff needs to prove that he or she was legally obligated to perform a duty by an individual or a company and that they did not fulfill it. In medical malpractice cases, it is the responsibility of medical professionals to provide the right standard of care to their patients. This is usually determined by expert testimony.

Expert witnesses help determine the correct medical standards, and then show how a doctor did not follow the standards in their treatment of the patient. A plaintiff's attorney for medical malpractice has to establish that the deviation was responsible for the victim's injuries.

Expert testimony is vital because jurors generally do not have a good understanding of anatomy and have watched a lot of medical dramas. In the case of upper sandusky medical malpractice lawyer malpractice, this is particularly important since it can be difficult to establish the standard of care. In a case of medical malpractice, the standard refers to the level of expertise and care quality, as well as level of care that other physicians in similar specialties can demonstrate under similar circumstances.

Experts in medical malpractice cases are typically surgeons or doctors who have similar training and accreditation. It is often difficult to locate an expert willing to testify regarding substandard medical care due to the "conspiracy" of silence among doctors.

Breach of duty

Medical malpractice occurs when a physician makes a mistake that hurts the patient. The mistakes could cause new injuries or make preexisting ones worse. Medical malpractice claims are challenging to prove because they involve complicated laws and issues. A competent medical malpractice lawyer will review your case to determine if a doctor has breached their duty to you.

Your attorney will determine if there was a doctor-patient relationship between you and your physician which is a requirement for any malpractice claim. Your attorney will scrutinize your doctor's actions and decisions to determine the level of care in your state for doctors who have similar training, background, and geographic location is met.

Physicians have a responsibility to their patients to follow these standards, without deviation or omission. A breach of duty means that the doctor didn't meet your expectations and resulted in injury.

It is simple to establish that there was a breach of duty with the assistance of experts and your attorney's research. Those experts can testify as to the reasons why the doctor's actions did or did not meet the standards of care and describe how a different medical professional in similar circumstances would have acted differently. Your lawyer must also connect the breach of duty to your injuries and damages. Your lawyer will review your medical records, prescription and test results, imaging scans, and prescriptions in order to build solid evidence that the breach of duty committed by your doctor directly caused your injuries.

Causation

Most treatments come with some degree of risk, however medical errors can increase those dangers. In order to prove causality, the injured patient must demonstrate a direct connection between the negligence of the doctor Olive Branch Medical Malpractice Attorney and the injury. In many cases this will require expert testimony and the help of a medical malpractice lawyer.

For example, misdiagnosing a condition or a serious illness is a common medical error. If doctors fail to detect cancer or another condition the result could have devastating consequences for the patient. In this instance the patient could experience unnecessary pain and even end up dying. By failing to diagnose the condition correctly the doctor could have committed a lapse of judgment.

Proving that a doctor or hospital treated you negligently isn't easy and takes a lot of time. The evidence needed may include numerous sources, such as medical records and test results as well as expert testimony from witnesses and oral depositions. Your attorney can assist you in obtaining and interpreting the evidence, as well representing you in the process of depositions.

It is crucial to remember that only healthcare professionals can be sued for malpractice. Unlike receptionists at medical centers nurses and doctors must act in accordance with the current standards of care. This means that a medical professional should be able to anticipate the consequences based on their skills and knowledge.

Damages

In medical malpractice lawsuits the courts consider monetary damages that are designed to compensate the injured patient. The damages may include future or past medical bills, loss of wages or income, pain and disfigurement or loss of enjoyment living. Punitive damages can be awarded in certain circumstances. These are reserved for the most egregious of actions that society would like to discourage.

A medical malpractice lawsuit begins by filing in court of a civil summons. Then, the parties will engage in discovery, a process where the plaintiffs and defendants make statements under swearing. This can include the request of medical records, for instance and depositions of the parties who are involved in a lawsuit and interviewing witnesses.

One of the first things to prove in a medical negligence case is that the doctor had the legal obligation of providing care and treatment to the patient. The second part is that the doctor breached this duty by not adhering to the standard of olive branch medical malpractice Attorney (vimeo.com) practice. The third aspect is whether the breach resulted in harm to the patient.

It is important to note that the statute of limitations (the legally defined time period within which a medical malpractice claim must be filed) differs from state to state. In New York, the statute of limitations is two years and six months (30 months) from the date on the date that the underlying cause of medical malpractice occurred.