How to File a Medical Malpractice Case

A patient who discovers that an object foreign to her like surgical clamps, remains in her body after gall bladder surgery may bring a kings point medical malpractice law firm malpractice lawsuit. A successful claim must establish the legal aspects of medical negligence: duty, deviance from this duty, direct causes, and injury.

Our clients must establish a direct connection between the breach of duty and the injury. This is known as the proximate cause.

Cause of Injury

A medical malpractice claim can be filed by the injured person or a legal person to act on their behalf. This could be the spouse or adult child or parent, guardian or administrator of the estate of a deceased person depending on the specific circumstances. The defendant in a suit for medical negligence is the health care provider. This could be an accredited nurse, doctor or therapist.

Expert testimony is typically required in malpractice cases. Medical experts must be able to prove whether or not the health care provider adhered to the standards of care for their specific area. They also need to testify on the harm caused by the doctor's actions or inactions.

The consequences of negligence and negligence can be very serious. For example, a misdiagnosis of a health issue could cause life-threatening complications. Other types of injuries can include operating on the wrong body part or putting surgical instruments in the patient.

In order to prove a malpractice claim the patient has to prove four legal elements: a duty the doctor owed them; a breach in this duty; a subsequent injury; and damages. In certain states, like New York, the law sets a limit on the amount that can be awarded in an action for malpractice.

Causation

The injury element, also referred to as causation, is one the most important elements in a medical malpractice case. To prove causation the plaintiff must demonstrate that they sustained the injury on the basis of probabilities because due to the negligence of the doctor. This is a challenging task for several reasons.

Many of the injuries that are the basis of a culpeper medical Malpractice Lawsuit negligence suit result from long-term illnesses or issues that existed before treatment started. Often the statute of limitations for a medical malpractice lawsuit extends over a number of years, and injuries may develop slowly.

In these situations, it is difficult to prove that one particular medical professional's breach of the standard of care led to the injury. However, the patient who is afflicted could be able to use the evidence gathered by the attorney, such as medical documents and expert testimony.

During the discovery process, which is a part of the legal procedure prepping for trial, your lawyer could request the disclosure of expert testimony and other documents from lawyers of the defendants. The doctor defending the lawsuit will be called to testify during depositions, which are testimony under the oath. Your lawyer can challenge doctor's findings and cross-examine them. The jury will then decide if the plaintiff has established the essential elements of compensation for injuries incurred by malpractice, you need to establish four elements that include a duty of care due to the healthcare provider, a breach of this duty; a causal link between the breach and injury; and damages caused by the injury. If your attorney can prove all these elements in a medical malpractice claim, you'll have a strong case.

In certain instances, a court may make punitive damages available, which are intended to penalize the offender and deter others from engaging in similar conduct. However, this is rare in medical malpractice cases, as the courts require extremely evident proof of malice in order to give these extraordinary awards.