How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

A patient who believes he is suffering a loss because of an error made by a medical professional may file a medical malpractice lawsuit. These cases differ from personal injury claims because they use a specialized standard to determine negligence.

In the United States, malpractice claims are handled by state trial courts. Each state has its own set of laws and procedures.

Duty of care

A surgeon, doctor, nurse or other health care professional is required to provide care to their patients. This legal concept basically states that any health practitioner who is treating you has the obligation to adhere to the accepted medical practices, without deviation or omission.

The medical standard of care is the legal standard against which all medical malpractice claims are evaluated. It is vital to a successful claim, because it provides a specific way for the person who was injured and their attorney to establish negligence by proving that a medical professional failed to adhere to the standard of care.

A qualified medical expert is often needed to prove this standard of care. Experts like these are crucial to establishing the relevant lewisville medical malpractice attorney standards of care and the manner in which that standard was breached by the defendants in a medical malpractice case.

It is also essential to prove that this breach of duty was the cause of your injury, illness, or death. In medical malpractice cases, damages typically include hospital costs as well as loss of income and earning capacity, pain and suffering, diminished quality of life and even punitive damages. Your lawyer must prove the exact amount of the damages, which could be greater than the original medical expenses. This is a little easier in certain circumstances than in others. In some cases this is more straightforward than in others.

Breach of duty

A doctor is bound for the patient to observe medical standards of care when providing treatment or other services. If a patient is injured by a doctor’s negligence may file a malpractice suit.

Medical negligence can encompass an array of actions including mistakes in diagnosis, dose of medication, health management, treatments and aftercare. In order for a lawsuit to be valid the plaintiff has to prove four legal elements. These include:

In the first place, there needs to be a trusting relationship between the doctor and patient. The doctor has a responsibility to inform patients of any risks and complications that may be involved during the procedure. Failure to inform the patient of any risks or complications could cause the physician to be held accountable for malpractice, even if the procedure was carried out perfectly. If the doctor did not inform the patient that a certain procedure had a 30% chance of losing limbs then the patient could not have agreed to it.

The next thing to be proved is a breach in the standard of care. To do this, the lawyer must have testimony from an expert witness to prove that the physician violated the standard of care. In addition, it needs to be established that the breach caused the patient’s injury.

The court system can be slow to resolve medical negligence cases. This is because it requires many hours of time by the physician and attorney, as well as extensive research interviews with experts and a thorough review of medical and legal literature. A physician who is the subject of an action for malpractice will have to pay court fees that are high along with attorney fees and work products, in addition to expenses for expert testimony.

Causation

All healthcare professionals including doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals are humans and will make mistakes. When these mistakes reach the level of medical malpractice, patients are afflicted with serious and life-threatening injuries. The proof that a health care provider has breached his or his or her duty and caused an injury requires both legal and medical expertise. A successful claim requires four legal elements to be established that include a doctor-patient relationship as well as the duty of a doctor to care towards the patient, the breach of that duty, and finally, the injury caused by the breach.

The injury must be proved to have been caused by the doctor’s deviation from the standard of medical care. This element has a higher legal standard than “beyond reasonable doubt” in criminal cases. The lawyer representing the plaintiff has to convince the jury/fact finder that it is more likely than not that the physician’s actions were negligent, and that negligence was a factor in the injury.

An expert medical witness is typically required early in the process to establish all of these factors. According to Rhode Island law only doctors with the right education, training and experience in the area of the suspected malpractice are able to give expert testimony. It is for this reason that selecting a medical expert who is qualified is so crucial in a case of malpractice.

Damages

A medical negligence lawsuit seeks to recover damages that includes the past and future expenses related to an injury. These expenses can include hospital bills, doctor’s appointments as well as pain and discomfort and lost wages. The jury will decide on the amount of damages owed by examining the evidence.

The plaintiff or their lawyer must prove four legal elements at trial: (1) the physician was obligated to them; (2) the doctor violated this duty through negligence; (3) the doctor’s negligence caused injury; (4) the injury caused damages in a tangible way. A doctor’s work is not malpractice if you are unhappy with it. However there must be an injury. An expert witness can help to determine if a doctor was not following the standard of care.

The legal process for a malpractice claim can last several years. This is because “discovery” involves the exchange of documents, and sworn statements of the parties involved. A majority of cases are resolved before they ever reach the courtroom. However, a tiny percentage of these claims make it to the stage of trial for a jury.

In an effort to cut litigation costs, some states have adopted a number of administrative and legislative measures commonly referred to as tort reform measures to limit liability for negligence. Some states have implemented alternative dispute resolution schemes including binding arbitration. These alternatives to civil litigation are designed to cut down on litigation costs, expedite the settlement and handling of malpractice claims, avoid overly generous juries, and screen out claims that are not worth the effort.