What Is a Medical Malpractice Claim?

A medical malpractice claim is a patient complaining about carelessness of a healthcare worker. The patient (or his or her estate if the patient has passed away) must prove that the negligence led to injury or harm.

In general, lawsuits claiming medical negligence are filed in state trial court. The patient who is aggrieved must demonstrate four legal elements to prevail in the case:

Duty of care

In any legal claim in any legal matter, the plaintiff must prove that a person or entity had a responsibility to them under a duty of care, and they did not fulfill that obligation. In medical malpractice cases this is the physician's duty to provide their patients with a proper standards of care. Expert testimony is often used to determine this.

Expert witnesses assist in determining the appropriate medical standards and then demonstrate how a doctor was not following these standards in their treatment of the patient. A lawyer representing a plaintiff for medical malpractice must then demonstrate that the deviation caused the victim's injuries.

Using expert testimony is essential, as most jurors are not aware of anatomy and have watched a lot of medical dramas. In medical malpractice claims it is crucial because it is often difficult to establish the appropriate standard of care. In a medical malpractice claim the standard is the level of expertise, quality of care and level of diligence that other physicians in similar specialties possess in similar circumstances.

Typically, experts in medical malpractice cases are surgeons or fellow doctors who have the same qualifications and board certifications. Due to the "conspiracy of silence" between a variety of doctors (a term lawyers employ to describe the tendency of doctors to not speak against one another) It can be challenging to find a qualified expert willing to testify against a colleague regarding sub-standard care.

Breach of duty

Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor makes a mistake that hurts the patient. These errors can lead to new injuries or make existing ones worse. Medical malpractice claims can be difficult to prove because they involve complex laws and issues. A good medical malpractice attorney will evaluate your case to determine if a physician has breached their duty to you.

Your attorney will establish a doctor-patient relation between you and your physician, which is necessary to prove a malpractice claim. Your attorney will examine your physician's decisions and actions to determine whether the standards of care in your state for doctors with similar training, experience, and geographic location is met.

Physicians have a duty to follow the guidelines that are set by their patients without deviation or omission. A breach of duty means that the doctor did not meet your expectations and this failure caused you injury.

It is easy to prove that there was a breach of duty with the assistance of expert witnesses and your attorney's research. Expert witnesses can testify to why the doctor's actions did not meet the standards of medical care and then explain how a medical professional in similar circumstances might have acted differently. Your lawyer should also be able to link the breach of duty with your injuries and damages. Your attorney will scrutinize your medical records, test and prescription results, imaging scans and prescriptions to make a strong case that the breach of duty by your physician directly caused your injuries.

Causation

Medical errors can increase the risks of most treatments. To prove the causality, the injured patient must establish that there is a direct link between the negligence of the doctor and their injuries. In many cases this will require expert testimony and the help of a lawyer for medical malpractice.

For instance, a mistake in diagnosing a condition or a serious illness is a common medical error. If doctors fail to recognize cancer or another condition, it can have severe consequences for the patient. In this scenario the patient could suffer unneeded suffering, or even death. The doctor may have committed a malpractice by not diagnosing the condition properly.

Proving that a doctor or hospital has treated you in a negligent manner is a lengthy and difficult process. The evidence needed may include many sources, such as medical records and test results as and expert testimony from witnesses and oral depositions. Your attorney can assist you locate and interpret the evidence and also assist you during the deposition process.

It is also important to remember that only a healthcare professional is liable for misconduct. Doctors and nurses, unlike receptionists at medical centers, are expected to follow the current standards of care. A medical professional should be able of predicting the outcome based on her education and skills.

Damages

In medical malpractice cases, the courts will hear about monetary compensations designed to pay compensation to injured patients. These damages can include the cost of medical malpractice lawyer bills in the past or in the future or wages lost as well as pain and discomfort, disfigurement or loss of enjoyment living. In some cases, punitive damages are awarded in a few cases. They are reserved for those who commit crimes that society wishes to discourage.

A medical malpractice claim typically begins with the filing a civil summons and complaint in the court. Then, the parties will engage in discovery, which is a process that requires the plaintiff and defendants make statements under an oath. This could include requesting the exchange of documents like medical records, taking depositions from parties involved in the lawsuit and conducting interviews with witnesses.

In a medical malpractice case it is essential to establish that the doctor was legally obligated to provide care and treatment to the patient. The second aspect is that the doctor breached this obligation by not adhering to the medical malpractice Lawyers standards of practice. The third factor is that the breach resulted in injury to the patient.

It is important to note that the statute of limitations (the legally-defined period within which a medical malpractice claim must be filed) differs from state to state. In New York, the statute of limitations is two years and six months (30 months) from the date which the underlying act of medical malpractice took place.