Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice lawyer assists injured patients get compensation for their losses. The common law system governs medical malpractice lawsuits.

In common law, doctors are expected to adhere to a certain level of care when treating patients. If a doctor is not following the accepted medical norms and results in injury or death, he may be liable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals are required to follow a set of standards that are accepted by the medical profession as reasonable and prudent when providing healthcare. If the standards aren't followed and if they cause injuries or health problems patients may be able to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The first element of a malpractice claim involves establishing that you had a doctor-patient relationship with the healthcare provider in question and that the entity or person was obligated to act in a reasonable way. You must then prove the breach occurred. This is usually done through the use of experts who can provide an objective analysis and evaluation of the situation.

The expert witness can determine whether the defendant's actions are below the accepted standard in your particular case. To allow the expert to make this decision, they will need to be able to look over your medical records and conduct an examination or interview of you.

You must also establish that the breach directly caused your injury. Causation is the third factor in a malpractice claim. In most instances, you'll need to have a direct cause-and-effect relationship between the breach of duty and the subsequent injury. A mistake in diagnosis, for instance may result in the wrong medication being prescribed or treatment being given. This in turn can cause a negative reaction such as heart attacks.

Breach of Duty

Like all doctors medical professionals, doctors are under a legal obligation to act with diligence and care. However doctors are held to an even more stringent standard because they are norwood medical malpractice lawsuit experts and have to make life and death decisions. The obligation of care is found in the regulations and laws for specific kinds of treatments and procedures.

In a negligence case, it is essential to establish that the defendant was bound by the duty of care for the plaintiff. It must be proved that the defendant violated this duty of care. This means that the doctor failed to meet the standards of care applicable to the situation. The standard of care is generally determined by what a reasonable individual would do in the situation. For instance, a prudent driver would not run an intersection with a red light.

In a case of negligence, expert witnesses are often needed to testify regarding the standard of care and how it was violated. They can also discuss the cause of the injury and what could have been done to avoid it from occurring.

Damages

In the United States, physicians are required to have malpractice insurance to protect themselves against any damages that could result due to medical negligence. In order to submit an action for damages the plaintiff must prove both actual financial losses (such as medical expenses and lost wages) as well as non-economic losses (such as pain and suffering).

The amount of compensation you receive from a successful malpractice lawsuit is contingent on the way in which your New York mcfarland medical malpractice attorney malpractice lawyer defends your losses. Your lawyer can determine your medically required expenses through a review your medical records, evidence from experts as well as the assistance of economic experts. Your medical malpractice lawyer must prove the loss of earnings by proving the amount of days that you missed from work because of medical conditions, and also the fact that these days were a result of the negligence of the defendant.

The non-economic damages may be more difficult to prove. You may require the assistance of an expert witness who can provide details of your physical, mental and emotional pain that is an direct result of defendant's negligence. Loss of consortium is another type of non-economic injury. It is the inability to maintain an intimate relationship with your spouse, or any other significant individual as you once did. The lawyer representing the defendant will contest your non-economic damages by interrogatories, depositions, and requests for documents and evidence under swearing.

Statute of Limitations

In New York, as with every state, there are certain time frames - also known as statutes of limitations - within which a medical malpractice lawsuit must be filed or otherwise it could be dismissed by the courts. An experienced New York medical malpractice lawyer is well-versed in these details and will make sure that your claim is filed within the deadlines that are set by law.

In most instances, the victim of medical malpractice must file his or her lawsuit within two and a half years from the date when the negligence or act of a medical professional caused the injury or death. As with all laws, this law is not without exceptions. For instance, if the error by the health professional was part of a continuous course of treatment, the 30-month statutory "clock" will not start until that course of treatment is completed or when the patient is informed of the diagnosis.

Additionally, in certain situations, such as when the foreign object remains inside the body after surgery or treatment, it might not be possible for a patient to discover the issue until much later. To address this issue, the majority of states have embraced the discovery rule. This allows injured victims in certain situations to extend their timeframes. Your attorney will know the specific rules in your state and will carefully look over your case's timeline in order to ensure that there are no administrative mistakes that could delay your claim.