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What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical malpractice case is brought by the patient who complains about the negligence of a healthcare worker. The patient, or or his estate in the event of a deceased patient must show that the negligence caused injury or harm.

Lawsuits alleging medical malpractice are generally filed in state trial courts. To win a lawsuit, the aggrieved party must demonstrate four legal elements:

Duty of care

To prove a legal claim, a plaintiff has to demonstrate that he/she was in the position of being owed a duty by a person or an organization and that they failed to perform it. In medical malpractice cases it is a physician's obligation to provide their patients with the right standard of medical care. This is usually determined through expert testimony.

Expert witnesses can help determine proper standards for medical practice and then demonstrate how a doctor has deviated from these guidelines when treating patients. A plaintiff's medical malpractice attorney must then prove that this deviation was directly responsible for the victim's injuries.

Expert testimony is vital since jurors are often unfamiliar with anatomy and watched a lot medical dramas. In medical malpractice claims this is crucial because it is often difficult to establish the standards of care. In the context of a medical malpractice case, the standard of care refers to the skill level of the practitioner, the quality of treatment, and degree of diligence possessed by other doctors with similar areas of expertise in similar circumstances.

Typically, experts in medical malpractice cases are fellow surgeons or doctors who have the same training and board certifications. Due to the "conspiracy of silence" among many doctors (a term lawyers employ to describe the tendency of doctors to not testify against each other) It can be difficult to locate a qualified expert willing to provide evidence against a colleague in relation to sub-standard care.

Breach of duty

When a doctor commits an error that hurts the patient, this is considered medical malpractice. Those mistakes can cause new injuries or make existing ones worse. Medical malpractice cases are a complex set of legal issues and regulations, making them difficult to prove. However, a qualified medical malpractice lawyer will look into the facts of your case to determine if the doctor has breached his or her duty to the patient.

Your attorney will establish there was a doctor-patient connection between you and your doctor, which is necessary for any malpractice claim. Your attorney will scrutinize your doctor's actions and decisions to determine whether the standard of care in your state for doctors with similar training, experience and geographical location is satisfied.

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

Proving the breach of duty is usually simple with the help of the research of your attorney and expert witnesses. Expert witnesses can testify to how the doctor's actions did or did not conform to the standards of care and also explain why a different medical professional in similar circumstances would have performed differently. Your lawyer should also tie the breach of duty to your injuries and damages. Your lawyer will review your medical records and test results, prescriptions and imaging scans to create an argument that the breach of duty by your doctor directly caused your injuries.

Causation

All treatments come with a degree of risk, but medical errors can exacerbate those risks. To prove causation in a malpractice claim the patient who has been injured must establish a direct connection between the negligence alleged and their injury. In many instances this will require expert testimony and the help of a medical malpractice lawyer.

Medical errors include mistakes in diagnosis, for instance, misdiagnosing serious ailments or illnesses. The failure of a doctor to recognize cancer or other conditions, can have serious consequences for the patient. In this scenario, the patient may experience excessive suffering, and even die. If the doctor failed to diagnose the problem correctly, the doctor may have committed a malpractice.

The process of proving that your doctor or hospital did not treat you properly is a lengthy and difficult process. The evidence needed may include many sources, including medical reports and test results as well as expert witness testimony and oral depositions. Your attorney can assist with obtaining and interpreting this evidence, as well being your advocate during the process of depositions.

It is crucial to remember that only healthcare professionals can be sued for negligence. Doctors and nurses, unlike receptionists in medical facilities, are expected to adhere to current standards of medical care. This means that a medical professional must be able to foresee consequences from their skills and knowledge.

Damages

In medical malpractice claims courts will hear about financial damages that are designed to compensate the victim. These damages may include future and past medical bills, lost wages, the disfigurement caused by pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. Punitive damages are awarded in certain circumstances. They are only awarded to egregious acts that society wants to deter.

A medical malpractice lawsuit typically begins with the filing a civil summons and complaint in the court. Then, the parties engage in discovery, which is a process in which the plaintiff and defendants are required to make disclosures under the oath. This could involve requesting the exchange of documents like medical records, taking depositions from parties involved in the lawsuit and conducting interviews with witnesses.

One of the primary elements to prove in a medical malpractice case is that the doctor had an obligation under law to provide medical care and treatment to the patient. The second thing to establish is that the doctor violated this duty by failing follow the medical malpractice lawsuits standard of care. The third aspect is that the breach resulted in harm to the patient.

It is important to know that the statutes of limitations (the legally-defined time period within which a lawsuit for medical malpractice has to be filed) differ from state states. In New York, the statute of limitations is two years and six months (30 months) from the date on when the underlying incident of medical malpractice occurred.