What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical malpractice claim is filed by an individual who is unhappy with the carelessness of a healthcare professional. The patient (or the estate of the patient if the patient died) must prove that the negligence resulted in injury or harm.

Lawsuits alleging medical malpractice are typically filed in state trial courts. The patient who is affronted must prove four legal elements in order to win a case:

Duty of care

To prove a legal claim, a plaintiff must prove that he or she was legally obligated to perform a duty by a third party and that they failed to perform the obligation. In medical malpractice cases, this involves a physician's obligation to provide their patients with the appropriate standard of treatment. Expert testimony is usually used to determine this.

Expert witnesses help determine the correct medical standards, and then prove that a physician was not following the guidelines in their treatment of the patient. A plaintiff's medical malpractice attorney must prove that the error was directly responsible for the victim's injury.

Expert testimony is crucial as jurors are typically not knowledgeable about anatomy and have seen a lot of medical dramas. In medical malpractice claims this is crucial as it is often difficult to establish the standard of care. In a medical malpractice case, the standard of care is referred to the level of skill of the practitioner, the quality of treatment, and the level of diligence displayed by other physicians in similar specialties in similar situations.

Generally, experts in medical malpractice claims are fellow surgeons or doctors with similar training and board certifications. Due to the "conspiracy of silence" among a number of doctors (a term lawyers employ to describe the tendency of doctors to not be able to testify against each other), it is often difficult to find a qualified expert willing to testify against a colleague regarding inadequate care.

Breach of duty

If a doctor commits an error that hurts the patient, this is medical malpractice. These errors can cause new injuries, or worsen existing ones. Medical malpractice claims involve complex laws and issues, making them difficult to prove. However, a reputable medical malpractice lawyer will examine the circumstances of your case and determine if the doctor has breached his or her duty to the patient.

Your attorney will establish a doctor-patient relation between you and your physician, which is necessary to prove a malpractice claim. Your attorney will also examine your physician's actions and decisions to determine if they meet what is referred to as the standard of care for doctors with similar training, experience and geographical location in your state.

Physicians are required by their patients to abide by these standards, without deviation or omission. A breach of that duty means that the doctor failed to meet these standards and caused injury to you.

It is easy to prove the breach of duty by using experts and your attorney's research. These experts can testify that the doctor's actions did not meet the standard of medical treatment and provide reasons why a different medical professional would have behaved differently in similar circumstances. Your lawyer must also connect the breach of duty to your injuries and damages. Your lawyer will examine your medical records tests, prescriptions, test results and imaging scans to make an argument that proves the breach of duty by your doctor directly caused your injuries.

Causation

The majority of treatments carry a level of risk, but medical errors can exacerbate those dangers. In order to prove causality, a patient who has suffered an injury must prove an unambiguous connection between the alleged negligence of a doctor and the injury. In many cases, this requires expert testimony and the assistance of a medical malpractice lawyer.

For instance, a mistake in diagnosing a condition or a serious disease is a common error. A doctor's inability to recognize cancer or any other medical condition, can have serious consequences for the patient. In this case, the patient may experience inexpensive suffering and possibly even death. The doctor may have committed a malpractice by not diagnosing the problem properly.

Finding out if your doctor or hospital did not treat you properly isn't easy and takes a lot of time. The evidence you require could be from various sources, such as medical records and test results, as well as expert witness testimony and oral depositions. Your lawyer can help you in obtaining and interpreting this evidence, as well being your advocate during the process of depositions.

It is important to keep in mind that only healthcare professionals can be sued for negligence. As opposed to receptionists in medical facilities, doctors and nurses are expected to behave in accordance with prevailing standards of care. This means that a medical professional should be able to foresee consequences from their skills and education.

Damages

In medical malpractice cases the courts consider monetary damages to compensate the victim. These damages could include past or future medical bills as well as loss of earnings or income, pain and disfigurement, or loss of enjoyment of living. In certain cases punitive damages can also be awarded. These are awarded to those who have committed particularly indecent actions that society is interested in preventing.

A medical malpractice case typically begins with the filing of an civil summons and complaint in court. The parties will then begin discovery. This is a procedure that requires both parties to give statements under oath. This can include requesting the exchange of documents like medical malpractice lawsuit records, deposing those involved in the lawsuit and conducting interviews with witnesses.

One of the most important elements to prove in a medical malpractice case is that the doctor owed an obligation under law to provide care and treatment to the patient. The second aspect is that the doctor violated that obligation by not adhering to the medical standards of practice. The third element is that the breach resulted in harm to the patient.

It is crucial to understand that the statutes of limitations (the legally prescribed time period within which a lawsuit for medical malpractice must be filed) vary from state the state. 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.