Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Medical professionals must comply with a certain standard of care for their patients. If a health-care provider does not adhere to this standard, and if the failure causes injury or complications for the patient, there may be grounds for a malpractice claim.

A successful malpractice lawsuit could help pay for medical expenses, reimburse lost wages and acknowledge pain and suffering. However, medical malpractice claims are often complex.

The wrong diagnosis

Medical malpractice claims that involve incorrect diagnosis are common. This type of claim usually involves a medical professional wrongly diagnosing a patient suffering from an illness or injury. A doctor might diagnose a patient with pneumonia when the patient has staph. A misdiagnosis could cause serious consequences for the patient including death.

According to medical malpractice insurance companies, diagnosis-related claims represent between 9 and 10 percent of claims (obstetrics and 61 percent in pediatrics) or their total claims. Medical malpractice claims are comparatively small and could be biased towards more severe errors. Claims are often closed or lapse without payment and many good errors do not result in an action in a malpractice suit.

To be able to successfully file an action for medical malpractice, the plaintiff must prove that the doctor acted in violation of the standard of care when diagnosing the condition. The lawyer representing the plaintiff must show that the doctor's mistake directly triggered an injury.

The litigation process in a medical malpractice lawsuit can be long-winded, costly and emotionally intense. Even though the majority of medical malpractice claims are settled out of court, attorneys and expert witnesses need to invest time and money on discovery, negotiations, and trial preparation. Additionally, doctors are often required to pay their malpractice insurance premiums as the claims process proceeds. These expenses have led some to advocate for tort reform that will lower the cost and speed up settlements.

Treatment Errors

You can expect that when visit a physician or hospital for treatment, the medical care you receive will be in line with the standard of care in your community. This includes a correct diagnosis and a reasonable treatment plan and the proper follow-up to ensure that your health improves. But mistakes made by doctors, nurses and other medical personnel can be serious and lead to permanent injuries or even death.

These errors can take on a variety of forms. For instance hospital staff members might misread a patient's chart and then administer the incorrect medication. This type of mistake typically occurs in emergency rooms where the time available is limited and staff members are under pressure to provide quick service. This is also the case when the doctor treats a problem which is outside his or her expertise.

Other types of errors comprise prescribing incorrect medications or giving patients a wrong dosage that causes injury. These mistakes can be committed by doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists and optometrists. They can also result in the failure to prescribe or recommend follow-up treatment needed to treat the error.

Incorrect medication can result in a wide range of serious injuries. Heart patients who are taking blood thinners can cause a dangerous bleeding disorder. It could also cause stroke. If you or a loved one was injured by an error in medical care You should seek the advice of an experienced New York medical negligence lawyer to determine whether you can be eligible for compensation.

Negligence

When medical professionals or doctors do not follow accepted standards of care, they could be liable for negligence. This can happen in many different settings, such as hospitals, doctor's office, therapy clinics and nursing homes. If a doctor fails to adhere to these guidelines and the patient suffers lasting harm they could be required to compensate for the harm.

In order to win a malpractice case, the injured party has to demonstrate that the physician's lapse in the discharge of professional duties caused the injuries. Causation is a legal norm that is crucial. The breach has to be a direct cause of the injury and the damages that was caused must be quantifiable. This includes medical or lost wages.

In the case of medical negligence the lawyer representing the plaintiff must also convince the juror that it is more likely than not that the physician's actions or inactions contributed to the damages sought. This isn't easy since people's memories may not be always crystal clear or are dependent on the arguments of the other side.

It is crucial that the lawyer is aware of how the medical malpractice law firm profession works. This knowledge can be used to show that the breach in professional duty caused the patient's injury. Medical malpractice cases can be filed in Federal or state courts, and often include expert witnesses who explain the standard of care that was violated.

Punitive Damages

We take for granted that we can trust medical professionals to treat us with competence and care. Errors can cause serious injuries, or even death. If these errors cause an unintentional death, the victim and their family members may be entitled to compensation for the loss they've suffered.

In wrongful death cases hospitals, doctors, nurses as well as pharmacists and physical therapists along with diagnostic imaging technicians and manufacturers of medical equipment are liable for suing. Since many parties could be accountable, it's often advisable for victims to bring claims against them all, working with their New York medical malpractice lawyers to determine which persons or businesses need to be sued.

Punitive damages aim to punish the defendant for their conduct and discourage them from repeating the same mistake in the future. As opposed to compensatory damages that are designed to address specific harms however, punitive damages can be applied to an entire class of people, and they are typically reserved for extreme misconduct.

The primary category of damages in the case of medical malpractice is reimbursement for actual financial losses, including the cost of medical treatment and lost wages. Your New York medical negligence lawyer can assist you in determining the amount of your damages by providing expert testimony on what constitutes a violation of normal care for the case's location and specialty. This is an important step because, without this evidence, your claim may be dismissed at the preliminary hearing level.