How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who finds an object that is foreign, for example, surgical clamps in her body after gall bladder surgery is able to file a lawsuit for medical malpractice. A successful lawsuit must prove the legal aspects of medical negligence: duty, deviation from this duty, direct causes, and injury.

It is vital for our clients to establish a direct relationship between the breach of duty and the injury which is referred to as proximate cause.

The reason for injury

A medical negligence case may be filed by the person who has been injured or a person legally designated to represent them. Depending on the circumstances this could be the spouse of the patient or an adult child parent, a guardian ad Litem or the executor or administrator of the estate of the patient who died. In a medical malpractice case, the defendant is the health care provider. This could be a nurse, doctor, therapist or any other health care professional.

Expert testimony is usually required in cases of malpractice. Medical experts are required to determine if the healthcare provider did what was required of care in their specific area of expertise. They must also testify regarding injuries caused by doctor's actions or inactions.

Injuries that result from malpractice or negligence can be very serious. A misdiagnosis can have serious consequences, like an illness that could be life-threatening. Other kinds of injuries include operating on the wrong body part or putting instruments inside the patient during surgery.

The patient must prove four legal elements of a malpractice lawsuit the duty owed to the patient by the physician or a breach of the duty; an injury caused by the breach; and resulting damages. In certain states, such as New York, the law places a limit on the amount of money that can be awarded in an action for malpractice.

Causation

The injury element, also referred to as causation, is one the most important elements of a medical malpractice case. To prove causation, the plaintiff must prove that the injury was the result of the doctor's negligence. This is a challenging task for several reasons.

For example, many injuries that are the subject of a medical-malpractice lawsuit are the result of long-term or ongoing illnesses that were present before treatment began. Often the statute of limitation for a claim involving medical malpractice is extended over a period of years, and the injuries may develop slowly.

In these cases it is difficult to prove that a medical professional's breached the standard of care led to the injury is a challenge. However, the person who was harmed could be able to use evidence gathered by the attorney, like medical records and expert testimony.

During the discovery process, which is a component of the legal process for getting ready for trial, your lawyer may request the disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from lawyers representing the defendants. The doctor who is defending the lawsuit will then be asked to testify during depositions, which are testimony under an oath. Your lawyer may challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has proved that the allegations of the case are true including breach of duty and causation.

Negligence

The plaintiff must convince jurors, when bringing a lawsuit for medical malpractice to show that it is more likely that the doctor did not fulfill his or her obligations as a physician and that those violations caused injury. The attorney representing the plaintiff must be able to prove this by utilizing evidence obtained during discovery. This involves soliciting documents, including medical records and other records from all parties in the lawsuit. Depositions, wherein statements are made under oath, and recorded to be used at trial, are also part of this process.

A doctor was in breach of his or her professional duty when he or she did something that a reasonably prudent doctor would not do under the same circumstances. It must be proved that the breach was the cause of the injury directly to the patient. This is known as causation or proxy causes. A patient may go to the hospital in order to repair a hernia, but end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice because the removal of the gall bladder did not benefit the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a legally prescribed time frame, known as the statute of limitations that varies from state to state. The victim must prove that the substandard treatment caused injury, then they must prove what monetary compensation they are entitled to.

Damages

If medical negligence has caused you to sustain an injury, you deserve to be compensated. At Scaffidi & Associates, we can assist you in obtaining the full and fair compensation for your losses.

The first step in a lawsuit is to file and serve a complaint or summons, as well as other documents on all defendants. The parties then proceed to discovery, a process in which documents and statements are made public under the oath. Medical records and notes of a doctor are typically requested during discovery.

In many states, to receive compensation for injuries caused through malpractice, you need to prove four things: a duty of care due to the healthcare provider and a breach of that duty; a causal link between the breach and injury; and damages resulting from the injury. If your attorney can prove all of these elements of a medical negligence claim, you will have a strong case.

In certain instances, a court may give punitive damages, which are intended to penalize the culprit and deter others from engaging in the same conduct. However, this is rare in medical malpractice lawyer malpractice cases, as the courts require extremely specific proof of malice to make these extraordinary awards.