by Quinton BargeHow to File a Medical malpractice lawsuit (links.Musicnotch.com)
A medical malpractice lawsuit against a doctor or hospital must prove that the defendant breached his or her obligation to patients. This evidence may include hospital and medical documents.
Our lawyers are skilled at taking effective depositions of witnesses. They could be doctors or other medical professionals in private practice or staff at a hospital or clinic.
Negligence
Patients have a right to be treated with respect to certain standards when they visit a hospital, doctor, or health care professional. Unfortunately they aren’t always adhered to or even observed. The consequences of this breach could be devastating.
A lawsuit may be brought against a medical professional if patients are injured or suffers a death due to the negligence of that doctor. To be able to file a valid lawsuit the injured person must demonstrate four legal elements: duty, breach, causation and damages.
Malpractice can be defined as an act by a doctor that is outside the accepted norms within the medical field and can cause injury to patients. It is a section of tort law, which is concerned with civil wrongs and not criminal offences or contractual obligations.
Medical negligence differs from regular negligence in that the person who is injured has to prove that the doctor was aware, or ought to have known, that their actions were going to cause harm before they can claim malpractice. Normal negligence does not. For instance an surgeon who accidentally cut a vein or nerve during surgery is negligent, but not malpractice because the doctor didn’t intend to cause harm.
In a lawsuit for medical malpractice the defendant is under the obligation of treating the patient according to the standard of care a reasonably prudent healthcare professional with the same experience and training in similar situations would provide. The violation of this obligation is a crucial aspect since it shows that the alleged negligent behavior caused the injury.
Damages
Damages in a malpractice case are determined by the losses you suffered as a result of the negligence of a doctor. This can include both financial losses, including future medical expenses, as well as non-economic damages such as pain and discomfort.
To be able to claim damages, you must prove that the doctor breached a duty of care, that the doctor’s deviation from the standard resulted in injury, and this injury resulted in quantifiable financial consequences. This is a complex legal analysis that typically requires expert witness testimony.
Certain of these losses can be spotted quickly, for example an error by a doctor caused an infection or other medical issue which required additional treatment. Other damages are less readily evident, for instance, if your doctor misdiagnoses you and you’re unable to receive the right treatment.
If a doctor’s error causes you to die and you are unable to sue, you may be able to sue for the cause of death. You may seek punitive damages in addition to the money you would receive in a survival suit.
In a majority of states, there are limitations on what you can claim in a malpractice claim. These caps vary from state to state and are generally applicable to both financial and other damages. Some states also have rules that restrict how long you can wait to make a claim.
Time Limits
As with all lawsuits, there are deadlines that must be followed or the case could be dismissed. In general, a malpractice lawsuit must be filed within two to six months of the medical malpractice law firms arising. The exact time frame varies by state.
The time period can be complicated, so it is vital to speak with an attorney immediately. The law firm will conduct an investigation to determine if there were any mistakes and if the case could stand up in the court. This process can take weeks or months.
Medical malpractice cases involve different laws than other types of cases, and often the statute of limitations is altered. In Pennsylvania, a patient has two years from the time that they discovered the negligence. This is known as the discovery rule.
In some states, the statutes of limitations begin to run on the date on which the medical error occurred. This is an issue if the error does not immediately cause symptoms. As an example, suppose the doctor is negligently leaving an object that is foreign in the body following surgery. The patient may not be aware of the object until three years after the surgery. In this situation, the statutes of limitations could have begun beginning from the date of surgery rather than the moment of identifying the error.
Expert Witnesses
Expert witnesses are frequently called upon to clarify the facts in medical malpractice cases. An expert witness for the plaintiff will be able to testify about the doctor’s duty of care to the patient and the medical standards for the region and specialty for this type of doctor with the same qualifications and experience and the ways the defendant deviated from those standards. The expert will also explain how the defendant’s deviance directly caused the injury to the patient.
The defendant will employ a professional to counter the plaintiff’s expert, and provide their professional opinion regarding whether the doctor was in compliance with the standards of care. The experts could disagree but the fact-finder will decide which expert is most reliable.
It is more beneficial for the expert to still be working in the medical field because they’ll have more knowledge of the current practice. Judges and jurors tend to consider practicing doctors more trustworthy than experts who rely only on the testimony of a court.
It is also preferable to get an expert witness that is specialized in the area of the negligence. A medical expert with prior experience treating breast cancer for instance, can provide an argument that is convincing as to the reason for an injury. A medical malpractice attorney in Ocala knows which experts to ask.