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 can file a lawsuit for medical negligence. A successful lawsuit must prove the legal aspects of country club hills medical malpractice attorney negligence: duty, deviation from this duty, direct cause and injury.

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

Cause of Injury

A medical malpractice claim can be filed by the victim or a legal representative. This could be the spouse or adult child parent, guardian, or administrator of an estate belonging to a deceased patient depending on the circumstances. The defendant in a suit for medical negligence is the health professional. It could be a licensed nurse, doctor or cudahy medical malpractice lawsuit therapist.

Malpractice cases usually require the testimony of experts. Medical experts must determine if the medical professional was acting in accordance with the standards of care in his or her particular field of expertise. They must also testify to the damage caused by the doctor's actions or inactions.

Injuries caused by negligence and mistakes can be devastating. For example, a misdiagnosis of a health issue could have life-threatening consequences. Other types of injuries include operating on the wrong body part or leaving instruments inside the patient during surgery.

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

Causation

The injury element, also referred to as causation, is one of the most important elements of medical malpractice cases. To establish causation, the plaintiff must prove that their injury was the result of the doctor's negligence. This is a difficult job due to a variety of reasons.

Many of the injuries that form the basis for medical negligence lawsuits result from chronic issues that existed before treatment began. Often the statute of limitations for a claim involving medical malpractice extends over a number of years, and injuries may develop slowly.

In these situations it can be difficult to prove that a particular medical professional's breach of the standard of care caused the injury. However, the patient who is afflicted might be able 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 could request disclosure of expert testimony as well as other documents from defense attorneys of the defendants. The doctor defending the lawsuit will then be asked to give evidence during deposition, which is the testimony under an oath. Your lawyer can challenge the doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will decide whether the plaintiff has substantiated the facts of the case including breach of duty, breach of contract and causation.

Negligence

If a claim for Milliken Medical Malpractice Attorney malpractice is filed, the plaintiff will have to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the physician committed a breach of professional duties and that the breaches caused harm. The plaintiff's lawyer must demonstrate this through evidence gathered during pretrial discovery. This involves requesting documents, including medical records, from all parties involved in the lawsuit. Depositions, where statements are made under oath and recorded to be used at trial, are also part of this process.

A doctor has breached their professional obligation in the event that they did something an ordinary prudent doctor would not have done in the same circumstances. It must be proven that the breach was the cause of the injury directly to the patient. This is known as causation or the proximate cause. Patients may visit the hospital to repair a hernia, but instead end up having their gall bladder removed. This is medical malpractice since the removal of the gall bladder was not beneficial to the patient.

Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a specific legal timeframe, also known as the statute of limitations. This differs from state-to-state. The patient who is injured must prove that the substandard care caused injury and then he or she must show how much compensation they are entitled to.

Damages

If medical negligence has led you to suffer an injury, you are entitled to be made whole. At Scaffidi & Associates, we can help you receive the full and fair compensation you deserve 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 participate in discovery. This is a process in which documents and declarations are revealed under oath. During discovery medical records and doctor's notes will usually be requested.

In most states, you must prove four things to be compensated for injuries incurred by medical malpractice such as a duty due to the healthcare provider in breach of that duty; a causal relationship between the breach and attorneys the injury suffered by the patient and the damages that result from the injury. If your attorney can establish all of these elements, you will have an argument for financial recovery in a medical malpractice claim.

In certain cases the court can make punitive damages available, which are designed to punish the offender and deter others from engaging in similar conduct. But, this isn't often the case in medical malpractice cases as courts require precise proof of malice before they can make these extraordinary awards.