How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

To bring a medical malpractice lawsuit against a doctor or hospital you must establish that the defendant has breached their duty towards patients. This evidence could be a hospital and medical records.

Our attorneys are experienced at taking depositions that are effective for witnesses. They could be doctors or other medical professionals who are in private practice or work at a clinic or hospital.

Negligence

Patients have a right to be treated with respect to certain standards when they visit a doctor, hospital or health care professional. Unfortunately, these standards are not always adhered to or even observed. This breach could have devastating consequences.

When someone suffers injury or death due to a doctor’s homewood malpractice attorney, they may file a lawsuit against the medical professional. To be able to file a valid lawsuit, an injured patient must establish four legal aspects including breach of duty and causation and damages.

Malpractice can be described as an act performed by a doctor that is outside the accepted norms in the medical profession and causes harm to patients. It is a subset of tort law that deals with civil wrongs that aren’t contractual duties or criminal offenses.

Medical negligence is distinct from regular negligence in that the person who is injured must prove that the doctor was aware that their actions would cause harm to claim malpractice, but normal negligence doesn’t. For instance an surgeon who accidentally cuts a vein or nerve during surgery would be considered negligent, but not sharonville Malpractice lawsuit because the surgeon did not intend to cause harm.

In a medical malpractice case the defendant’s responsibility is to treat the patient in accordance with the standard of care a qualified health professional with similar experience and education would offer in similar circumstances. The breach of this duty is an essential element since it proves that the alleged negligent behavior caused the injury.

Damages

In a malpractice case damages are determined based on the losses you have suffered due to a doctor’s negligence. This can include both financial loss, such as the cost of future medical care, and non-economic losses such as suffering and pain.

To recover damages, you must prove that the doctor violated a duty of care, that the doctor’s deviation from that standard resulted in injury, and that this injury resulted in quantifiable financial consequences. This is a difficult legal analysis that usually requires expert witness testimony.

Some of these losses are evident, such as if your doctor made an error that caused an infection or other medical complications, and you needed additional treatment in the aftermath. Other damages are less readily obvious, for instance if your doctor misdiagnoses you, and you aren’t able to receive the proper treatment.

You can sue for wrongful death when a doctor’s negligence caused your death. You may be able to claim punitive damages in addition the compensation you’d receive in a case of survival.

In a majority of states, there are limits on what you can claim in a malpractice case. These limits vary from state to state and are usually applicable to both economic and non-economic damages. Certain states also have rules that limit the length of time you have to wait to make a claim.

Time Limits

As with any lawsuit there are time limits which must be followed or the case could be thrown out. A malpractice lawsuit should generally be filed between two and six years following the time when the mishap occurred. The deadline for filing a malpractice lawsuit varies from state to state.

The time period can be complicated, so it is vital to consult a lawyer right away. The law firm will conduct an investigation to determine if there were any mistakes and if the case can be heard in the court. This process can take several weeks or even months.

Medical malpractice cases are governed by different laws than other types of cases and the statute of limitations is altered. For example in Pennsylvania the patient has to make a claim within two years from the date they discovered the malpractice or when a reasonable person should have realized the injury existed. This is called the discovery rule.

In other states, the statute of limitations begins to run from the date the malpractice occurred. This can be a problem when the malpractice does not immediately trigger symptoms. For example, suppose doctors mistakenly leave a foreign object inside the body after surgery. The patient may not realize the foreign object until three or more years after surgery. In this case, the statute of limitations might have started to run from the date of the surgery, not from the discovery of the error.

Expert Witnesses

Many medical malpractice cases rely on experts to explain the facts of the case. A plaintiff’s expert witness will be able to testify about the doctor’s duty of providing medical care to the patient as well as the standards of medical care in the area and in the specialty of doctors with similar qualifications and expertise and the ways the defendant violated those standards. The expert will then describe how the deviance directly caused the injury of the patient.

The defendant will engage an expert to challenge the plaintiff’s expert, and give their professional opinion on whether the doctor’s actions met the standards of care. It is common for experts to disagree with each with respect to their opinions, but the fact finder determines who is the most trustworthy based on their education and experience.

It is better for the expert to still be working in the medical field because they will have better understanding of current practices. Judges and jurors typically consider professionals who are practicing more credible than experts whose only source of income is testifying in court.

It is also recommended to hire an expert who is specialized in the field of malpractice. For instance a medical professional who is proficient in treating breast cancer can provide an even more convincing case for the reason for an injury suffered by a plaintiff. An experienced Ocala medical malpractice attorney will know which experts to consult for your case.