What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical malpractice claim is a patient who complains of negligence by a healthcare worker. The patient (or the estate of the patient if the patient has passed away) must prove that the negligence led to injury or harm.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are generally filed in state trial courts. To win a lawsuit, the aggrieved party has to demonstrate four legal elements:

Duty of care

In any legal claim, the plaintiff needs to demonstrate that an individual or entity owed them a duty of care, and they did not fulfill that duty. In medical malpractice cases, it is the duty of medical professionals to provide the appropriate level of care to their patients. Expert testimony is often used to determine this.

Expert witnesses can help determine the appropriate standards of medicine and then explain how a doctor departed from these guidelines when treating patients. A lawyer representing a plaintiff for medical malpractice needs to show that the deviance caused the victim's injuries.

Expert testimony is essential because jurors generally do not have a good understanding of anatomy and are exposed to numerous medical dramas. This is especially important when it comes to medical malpractice claims, as it can be difficult to establish a standard of care. In the context of medical malpractice cases, the standard of care is referred to the level of skill of the practitioner, the quality of treatment, and the level of dedication possessed by other doctors with similar specialties in similar situations.

Typically, experts in medical malpractice cases are surgeons or fellow doctors who have the same training and board certifications. Due to the "conspiracy of silence" between a variety of doctors (a term lawyers use to describe the tendency of doctors not to speak against one another) it isn't easy to find an expert who is qualified to testify against a colleague regarding poor care.

Breach of duty

When a doctor commits an error that harms the patient, it is medical malpractice. The mistakes could cause new injuries or make preexisting ones worse. Medical malpractice claims are complicated laws and issues, making them difficult to prove. A reputable medical malpractice lawyer will review your case to determine if the doctor has violated their obligation to you.

Your attorney will establish that there was a doctor-patient relationship between you and your doctor, which is required in any malpractice claim. Your attorney will look into your doctor's actions and decisions to determine whether the standards of care in your state for doctors with similar training, experience and geographical location is in place.

Doctors are required to respect the standards that are set by their patients without omission or deviation. If they violate this duty, it means that the doctor was not able to meet these standards and caused injury to you.

It is simple to establish an infraction of duty by using experts and your attorney's research. Experts can testify that the doctor's actions did not meet the standard of medical treatment and also explain why another medical professional would have acted differently in similar circumstances. Your lawyer must also connect the breach of duty to your injuries and damages. Your lawyer will review your medical records tests, prescriptions, test results and imaging scans in order to construct a solid case that your physician's breach of duty directly caused your injuries.

Causation

All treatments come with a degree of risk, however medical malpractice lawsuit errors can increase those risks. To prove causality in a malpractice case the patient who has been injured must prove a direct connection between the alleged negligence and their injuries. In many instances this will require expert testimony and the help of a medical malpractice lawyer.

For instance, misdiagnosing a condition or a serious illness is a common error. If the doctor fails to identify cancer or another disease it could result in severe consequences for the patient. In this situation the patient could be suffering in pain that is not needed and could even die. By failing to diagnose the condition properly, the doctor may have committed malpractice.

Proving that a hospital or doctor failed to treat you appropriately can be difficult and time-consuming. Evidence could come from number of sources, including medical records and test results, as well as expert witness testimony and depositions. Your attorney can assist you in obtaining and interpreting the evidence as well as assisting you during the process of depositions.

It is also important to remember that only healthcare professionals can be sued for negligence. Nurses and doctors, in contrast to receptionists at medical centers, are expected to follow the current standards of treatment. Medical professionals should be able to anticipate the consequences of his or qualifications and education.

Damages

In medical malpractice cases the courts are able to determine monetary damages that are intended to compensate the injured person. These damages can be based on past or future medical bills or wages lost in the event of pain and discomfort disfigurement, or loss of enjoyment of living. In some cases, Medical malpractice punitive damages are awarded in certain circumstances. They are only awarded to those who commit crimes that society wishes to discourage.

A medical malpractice case usually begins with the filing an civil summons and complaint in the court. The parties then engage in discovery, a procedure through which the plaintiff and defendants disclose statements under swearing. This could include asking for medical malpractice medical records and depositions of the parties involved in a lawsuit as well as interviewing witnesses.

One of the most important elements to prove in a medical malpractice law firm malpractice case is that the doctor had the legal obligation to provide healthcare and treatment to the patient. The second element is that the doctor violated this obligation by failing to follow the medical standard of practice. The third factor is whether the breach resulted in injury to the patient.

It is important to know that the statutes of limitations (the legally-required time frame within which a lawsuit for medical malpractice must be filed) differ from state states. In New York, there is a statute of limitations of two years and six months (30 months) after the date of the medical malpractice.