How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers a foreign object such as surgical clamps within her body after gall bladder surgery can make a claim for medical malpractice. A successful lawsuit must prove the legal elements of medical negligence: duty, deviance from this duty, direct causes, and injury.

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

Cause of Injury

A claim for medical malpractice can be filed either by the person who suffered the injury or an attorney. This can be the spouse or adult child, parent, guardian or administrator of the estate of a deceased patient depending on the specific circumstances. In a case involving medical malpractice the defendant is the health care provider. This could be a doctor, bethlehem medical malpractice lawyer nurse or therapist, or any other licensed health professional.

Expert testimony is typically required in malpractice cases. Medical experts must determine if the doctor performed his duties in accordance with the standard of care in his or her special area of expertise. They also have to testify about the injury that was caused by the physician's actions or actions or.

The consequences of malpractice and negligence can be very serious. An incorrect diagnosis can lead to serious consequences, such as a life-threatening condition. Other types of injuries could include operating on the wrong body part or putting instruments inside the patient during surgery.

The patient must establish four legal elements in a malpractice case that include a duty owed to the patient by the physician; a breach of this duty; an injury caused by the breach and the consequential damages. In certain states, such as New York the law limits the amount of money awarded in a case of malpractice.

Causation

The injury element, also referred to as causation, is one the most important elements in a michigan medical malpractice law firm malpractice case. To prove causation, the plaintiff must prove that their injury was caused by the doctor's negligence. This is a difficult task due to a variety reasons.

For instance, many of the injuries that are the subject of a hollywood medical malpractice lawyer malpractice lawsuit arise from long-term or ongoing conditions that were in the process of being treated prior to. Often the statute of limitations for a medical malpractice claim extends over a variety of years, and injuries may develop slowly.

In these cases the proof that a medical professional's breached the standard of care which led to the injury can be difficult. The attorney could have collected evidence, like expert testimony and medical records which the injured patient could use.

In the discovery process as part of the legal process preparation 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 give a deposition. This is a testimonies that is made under an oath. Your lawyer can challenge doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will then decide if the plaintiff has proven the necessary elements of their claim, which includes obligation, breach, causation and injury.

Negligence

If a claim for bridgeport medical malpractice lawsuit malpractice is filed, the plaintiff will have to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the doctor violated professional duties and that those breached duties caused injury. The lawyer for portage Medical malpractice lawyer the plaintiff must show this through evidence gathered through pretrial discovery, which entails requesting disclosure of documents including medical records from all parties involved in the lawsuit. This process also includes sworn statements that are recorded and used at trial.

A doctor has breached their professional obligation in the event that they did something a reasonable and prudent doctor would not have done in the same circumstances. It must be proven that the breach caused the injury directly to the patient. This is known as causation or proximate causes. For instance when a patient is taken to the hospital for a hernia surgery and is later told that he or her gall bladder removed instead. This is medical negligence since the procedure did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be brought within a legally-defined period of time, also known as the statute of limitations which varies according to the state. The injured patient must establish that the negligent care caused injury and then prove the amount of financial compensation he or her deserves.

Damages

If medical negligence has led you to suffer an injury, you should be made whole. Scaffidi & Associates can help you receive fair and full compensation for your losses.

The first step is filing and serving a summons and complaint to all named defendants in the lawsuit. The parties then engage in discovery, a process in which documents and statements are disclosed under the oath. During discovery medical records and notes from a doctor are typically requested.

In most states, in order to receive compensation for injuries caused by negligence, you must to establish four elements: 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 resulting from the injury. If your attorney can establish all of these elements, you have an argument for financial compensation in a medical malpractice case.

In certain instances courts may give punitive damages, which are intended to penalize the culprit and deter others from engaging in similar conduct. But, this isn't often the case in medical malpractice cases as the courts require extremely specific proof of malice to award these awe-inspiring awards.