How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
To bring an action for medical malpractice against a physician or hospital you must prove that the defendant has breached their duty towards patients. This evidence could include hospital and medical documents.
Our lawyers have years of experience in conducting effective depositions. They could be doctors, other medical professionals in private practice, or working at a clinic or hospital.
Negligence
Patients have a right to receive certain standards of care when they visit a doctor, hospital, or health care professional. However, in a few instances these standards are not being met or even violated. This can lead to devastating consequences.
When someone is injured or death as a result of a doctor’s malpractice, they may pursue a lawsuit against the medical professional. In order to file a valid claim, the patient must demonstrate that there are four legal elements present: duty, breach of duty, causation and damages.
Malpractice is defined as an act or omission committed by an individual physician that is in violation of the accepted norms of practice in the medical field, and causes injury to the patient. It is a subset of tort law that deals with civil violations that are not contractual duties or criminal offenses.
Medical negligence differs from normal negligence in that the victim has to demonstrate that the doctor knew, or ought to have known that their actions were going to cause harm before they can claim malpractice. Normal negligence is not a requirement. For example a surgeon who accidentally cut a vein or nerve during surgery would be in the wrong of negligence, but not malpractice because the doctor was not aiming to cause harm.
In a case of medical malpractice the defendant is bound by the obligation of treating the patient according to the standard of care that a reasonably competent healthcare professional with comparable experience and education in similar circumstances could provide. The violation of this obligation is a crucial element since it proves that the alleged negligence caused the injury.
Damages
In a malpractice case damages are calculated based upon your losses due to a physician’s negligence. These could include both financial losses, such as the cost of future medical care, and non-economic losses like suffering and pain.
To claim damages, you must show that the doctor violated a duty of care, that the physician’s deviation from the norm resulted in injury, and that this injury had quantifiable monetary consequences. This is a complex legal analysis that usually requires expert witness testimony.
Certain of the losses can be observed immediately, for instance the case where a doctor’s error caused an infection or other medical issue that required additional treatment. Some damages are more difficult to detect for instance, when doctors misdiagnose your condition and you cannot get the correct treatment.
You are able to sue for wrongful-death in the event that your doctor’s negligence results in your death. You can seek punitive damages in addition the compensation you’d receive in a survival lawsuit.
In most states there are limits on the amount you can recover in a legal case. The caps differ by state, and often apply to both economic and non-economic damages. Some states have laws that limit how long you can delay before filing a lawsuit.
Time Limits
Like any lawsuit, there are time limits which must be adhered to or the case could be barred. Generally speaking, a bossier city malpractice lawyer lawsuit must be filed within two to six years from the medical malpractice that occurred. The timeframe for filing a lawsuit varies by state.
The time period can be complex, and it is crucial to speak with a lawyer right away. The law firm will conduct an investigation to determine whether a mistake was committed and if it could be found to be valid in court. This stage can take months or even weeks.
Medical malpractice cases are subject to different laws, and the statute of limitations is often altered. In Pennsylvania patients are entitled to two years from the date when they first discovered the negligence. This is referred to as the discovery rule.
In certain states, the statutes of limitations begin to expire on the date when the Campbellsville malpractice lawsuit occurred. This could be a problem if the medical error does not cause immediate symptoms. As an example, suppose a doctor negligently leaves a foreign object in the body after surgery. The patient may not realize the object until three years after the surgery. In this situation the statute of limitations could have been running from the date of surgery, not the moment of identifying the error.
Expert Witnesses
Many medical malpractice cases depend on expert witnesses to clarify the facts of the case. An expert witness for the plaintiff will testify about the doctor’s duty of care to the patient as well as the standards of medical care in the area and the specialization for that type of physician who has similar qualifications and abilities and the ways that the defendant violated the standards. The expert will then describe how the deviation directly caused the patient’s injury.
The defendant will hire an expert to counter the plaintiff’s expert and offer their professional opinion about whether the doctor met the standards of care. Experts may differ but the fact-finder will decide which expert is most reliable.
It is advisable for the expert to remain working in the medical profession since they are more knowledgeable about the current practices. Jurors and judges typically consider professionals who are practicing more credible than experts whose only source of income is testifying in court.
It is also preferable to hire an expert witness who specializes in the area of the legal malpractice. For instance a medical professional who is knowledgeable about treating breast cancer can provide an argument that is more convincing about the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. A medical huntingdon malpractice attorney lawyer in Ocala knows which experts to talk to.