How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Bringing a medical malpractice suit against a doctor or hospital must prove that the defendant acted in breach of his or Malpractice her obligation to patients. This evidence could be a medical and hospital documents.

Our lawyers have years of expertise in obtaining depositions that are successful. These may be doctors or other medical professionals working in private practice, or even staff members at a clinic or hospital.

Negligence

Patients have a right to be treated with respect to certain standards when they visit a doctor, hospital or health care professional. In some instances, these standards are not met, or even breached. The consequences of this breach can be devastating.

When someone is injured or death because of a doctor's negligence, they could sue the medical professional. To have a valid claim, the injured patient must prove that there are four legal elements in place which include breach of duty, causation, and damages.

Malpractice is described as an act performed by a doctor that is outside the accepted norms in the medical profession and results in harm to a patient. It is a section of tort law, which deals with civil wrongs, not criminal offenses or contractual obligations.

Medical negligence is different from normal negligence in that the person who is injured must demonstrate that the doctor knew, or ought to have known that their actions were likely to cause harm before they are able to claim malpractice. Normal negligence does not. For instance the surgeon who cuts a vein or nerve during surgery is considered negligent, but not malpractice since the doctor was not aiming to cause harm.

In a medical malpractice lawsuit the defendant is under an obligation to treat the patient in accordance with the standard of care a reasonably competent healthcare professional with comparable knowledge and experience in similar situations would provide. The breach of duty is significant because it proves that the alleged negligence caused the injury.

Damages

In a malpractice case, damages are calculated based on your losses due to a physician's negligence. This can include both financial losses, such as the cost of future medical expenses as well as non-economic losses such as pain and suffering.

To be able to claim damages, you need to establish that a doctor acted in violation of a duty or obligation, and that his lapse from the standard of care resulted in injuries, and that the injury resulted in measurable financial costs. This is a complex legal analysis that typically requires expert witness testimony.

Some of these losses are obvious, such as if your doctor made an error that caused an infection or other medical problem, and you needed additional treatment because of it. Some damages are more difficult to detect, such as when doctors misdiagnose your condition and malpractice you cannot get the correct treatment.

If a medical professional's negligence causes your death and you are unable to sue, you may be able to sue for the wrongful death. In these cases, you are legally entitled to all the compensation you would have received in a lawsuit for survival and punitive damages.

In the majority of states, there are limitations to the amount you can get in a malpractice case. These caps vary by state and are usually applicable to both economic and non-economic damages. Some states have laws that limit how long you can delay before filing a lawsuit.

Time Limits

As with any lawsuit there are certain deadlines which must be adhered to or the case will be dismissed. Generally speaking, a malpractice lawsuit must be filed within two to six years of the medical malpractice law firm occurring. The time limit differs by state.

It is important to talk with an attorney as soon as possible. The law firm will conduct an investigation to determine if malpractice occurred and if it will be accepted in the court. This process can take up to a few weeks or even months.

Medical malpractice cases are governed by different laws than other types of cases, and often the statute of limitation is modified. For instance, in Pennsylvania the patient has to make a claim within two years from the time they discovered the malpractice or when a reasonable person should have realized the injury existed. This is called the discovery rule.

In some states, the statutes of limitations begin to run from the date that the medical error occurred. This can be a problem when the malpractice is not immediately causing symptoms. Consider, for instance, that a doctor erroneously left a foreign body in the body of the patient following surgery. The patient might not discover the object until three years after the surgery. In that case the statute of limitations might have started to run from the date of the surgery instead of the moment of discovery of the error.

Expert Witnesses

Many medical malpractice cases depend on expert witnesses to help explain the facts of the case. The expert of the plaintiff will testify on doctors' obligations to the patient, medical guidelines for doctors who have similar qualifications in their area as well as the specific ways in which the defendant departed from the standards. The expert will also explain how the departure directly caused the injury suffered by the patient.

The defendant will employ a professional to counter the plaintiff’s expert, and offer their professional opinion about whether the doctor met the requirements of medical care. The experts could disagree, but the fact-finder decides which expert is the most credible.

It is more beneficial for the expert to working in the medical field because they will have better understanding of current practices. Jurors and judges typically consider professionals who are practicing more credible than experts who rely solely on court testimony.

It is also beneficial to get an expert witness who is skilled in the area of the fraud. For instance an expert in medical practice who is well versed in treating breast cancer could make a an argument more convincing regarding the reason for the plaintiff's injury. A knowledgeable Ocala medical malpractice attorney will be aware of which expert witnesses to call for your case.