How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

A patient who believes that he is suffering a loss because of an error made by a medical professional could file a medical negligence lawsuit. These cases differ from other personal injury claims by using the professional standard of care to determine the degree of negligence.

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

Duty of care

A surgeon, doctor, nurse or any other health care professional, owes their patients a duty of care. This legal principle states that anyone who is a health professional treating you has a duty to follow the accepted medical procedures.

The medical standard of care is the legal yardstick against which all medical malpractice claims are judged. It is vital to a successful claim, since it allows for the person who was injured as well as their attorney to prove negligence by proving that the health professional did not conform to the standards of care.

A qualified medical expert is usually required to establish this standard of care. These experts are crucial in setting the standards of care that applies to the case and the manner in which defendants violated the law.

Additionally it is important to prove that the breach of duty led to your injury or illness. In medical malpractice lawsuits, damages can include hospital expenses as well as lost income and future earning capacity, suffering, pain and even punitive damage. Your lawyer must demonstrate the amount of damages you are entitled to, which could be more than your initial medical costs. This is less difficult in some instances than in other. In certain instances this is more straightforward than in others.

Breach of duty

A doctor is bound to the patient to follow medical standards of care in providing treatment or services. A patient who is injured due to a doctor's negligence can bring a malpractice lawsuit.

Medical negligence can encompass an array of actions for example, errors in diagnosis, dose of medication, health management, treatments and aftercare. To make a claim valid the plaintiff has to prove four legal elements. These include:

First, there must be a doctor-patient relationship. The doctor has the obligation of informing the patient about any risks or potential complications that could arise from the procedure. Even if the procedure was executed correctly, the doctor may be liable for malpractice in the event they fail to warn the patient. For example, if the doctor did not warn patients that a particular operation was likely to have the possibility of losing 30% limbs, a patient might not have reasonably consented to the surgery.

The second element that must be proved is an infraction to the standard of care. To show that the doctor did not follow from the standard of care, a lawyer will require expert witness testimony. It must also be established that the breach of standard of care caused the patient's injuries.

The court system can be slow in settling medical negligence cases. This is because it requires many hours of time from the doctor and attorney, as well as extensive research interviews with experts and a thorough study of legal and medical literature. Physicians who are facing a malpractice lawsuit is required to pay significant court costs, attorney's work products and costs, and expenses for expert testimony.

Causation

Nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals are people and they make mistakes. When these errors reach the level of malpractice, patients can be afflicted with life-threatening injuries. Proving that a healthcare provider committed a breach of his or duty and caused injury requires legal and medical knowledge. A successful case requires four legal elements to be proven the relationship between a physician and a patient that is based on the doctor's duty to care to the patient, the breach of this duty, and Medical malpractice lawsuits the injury that resulted from the breach.

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

Medical experts are often required early in the process to identify all of these elements. Under Rhode Island law, only doctors with a sufficient qualifications, training, skill, and knowledge regarding the area of alleged malpractice can give expert testimony regarding the issue. This is why selecting an expert medical professional who is competent is such an important aspect of the case of a malpractice.

Damages

Medical malpractice lawsuits are designed to recover damages that cover the future and past expenses that result from an injury. These costs could include hospital bills, medical malpractice lawsuits doctor's appointments as well as pain and discomfort and lost wages. The amount of damages awarded is determined by the jury based on the evidence submitted.

During the trial, the plaintiff or their lawyer must establish four essential legal elements: (1) a physician owed them a professional duty; (2) the doctor breached this duty by acting negligently; (3) the doctor's negligence caused injuries and (4) the injury resulted in measurable damages. Dissatisfaction with a physician's work does not constitute malpractice, but the actual injury has to be evidenced. A medical professional can determine if a doctor has strayed from the standard of care.

The legal procedure for a claim of malpractice may last for several years. This is because "discovery" involves the exchange of documents, and sworn statements of the parties involved. Although many cases are settled prior to reaching the courtroom, a small percentage of these claims go all the way to a jury trial and a verdict.

In an effort to reduce costs associated with litigation, some states have enacted a variety of administrative and legislative measures commonly referred to as tort reform measures to reduce liability for negligence. In addition, a few states have implemented alternative dispute resolution procedures like binding arbitration that is voluntary. The purpose of these alternative methods to civil litigation is to reduce the cost of litigation and speed up treatment of malpractice claims, by removing juries with excessively generous verdicts and screening out frivolous medical claims.