How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
Bringing a medical malpractice law firm suit against a hospital or doctor requires evidence that the defendant breached his or her duty to patients. This evidence could include hospital and medical records.
Our lawyers are skilled at conducting effective depositions of witnesses. They may be doctors, other medical professionals in private practice, or working 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 professional. In some instances, these standards are not met, or even violated. This breach could have devastating results.
A lawsuit may be filed against a medical professional if patients are injured or suffers a death due to the negligence of that doctor. In order to have a valid claim, the patient must demonstrate that there are four legal elements present such as breach of duty, causation, and damages.
Malpractice is defined as an act or omission committed by an individual physician that is in violation of the accepted norms of medical practice within the medical profession, and causes injury to the patient. It is a component of tort law that covers civil violations not criminal offenses or contractual duties.
Medical negligence differs from regular negligence in that the party who suffers must prove that the doctor knew, or ought to have known, that their actions were going to cause harm before they can claim malpractice. Normal negligence doesn’t. For example a surgeon who accidentally nicks a nerve or vein during surgery would be in the wrong of negligence, but not malpractice because the doctor was not aiming to cause harm.
In the case of medical negligence, the defendant’s duty is to treat the patient according with the standards of care a prudent health care professional of similar experience and training would provide in similar circumstances. The breach of this duty is a critical element since it proves that the alleged negligence caused the injury.
Damages
Damages in a malpractice case are determined by the losses you sustained as a result of the negligence of a physician. These can include both actual financial loss such as the cost of future medical care as well as non-economic losses such as suffering and pain.
To be able to claim damages, you need to establish that a doctor acted in violation of the duty of care, that his deviation from the standard of care led to injuries, and that the injury resulted in measurable financial costs. This is a complex legal analysis that usually requires expert witness testimony.
Some of these losses are evident for instance, if a doctor made an error that resulted in an infection or other medical problem, and you needed additional treatment as a result. Other damages are less readily evident, for instance, if your doctor misdiagnoses you and you aren’t able to receive the right treatment.
You may sue for wrongful deaths when a doctor’s negligence caused your death. You can claim punitive damages in addition to the compensation you would get in a lawsuit for survival.
In most states there are limitations on the amount you can recover in a malpractice case. These caps differ from state to state and are often applicable to both financial and other damages. Some states also have rules that restrict the length of time you have to wait to bring a lawsuit.
Time Limits
As with any lawsuit, there are specific deadlines that must be followed or the case could be dismissed. A malpractice lawsuit must generally be filed between two and six years after the act occurred. The time limit differs by state.
It is important to talk with an attorney as soon as you can. The law firm will investigate to determine if there were any mistakes and if the case could stand up in court. This stage can take several weeks or even months.
Medical malpractice cases are governed by different laws and the statute of limitation is often altered. For example in Pennsylvania patients must make a claim within two years of the date they were aware of the malpractice, or the date a reasonable person should have realized the injury existed. This is called the discovery rule.
In other states the statute of limitations starts at the time the malpractice occurred. This is an issue if the malpractice lawsuits does not cause any immediate symptoms. Imagine, for instance that a doctor has negligently left a foreign body inside the body of the patient following surgery. The patient may not realize the foreign object until three or more years after the surgery. In this case, the statutes of limitations may have started at the time of the surgery, not the discovery of error.
Expert Witnesses
Expert witnesses are frequently called upon to clarify the facts in medical malpractice cases. The expert of the plaintiff will testify on the doctor’s duty to the patient, medical guidelines for doctors with similar qualifications in the same area and specialization, and the ways the defendant deviated from those standards. The expert will then explain how the deviance directly caused the injury of the patient.
The defendant will employ an expert to challenge the plaintiff’s expert, and offer their professional opinion about whether the doctor met the standard of care. Experts could differ but the fact-finder will decide which expert is the most reliable.
It is best for the expert to working in the medical field, since they’ll have a more knowledge of the current practice. Judges and jurors tend to find practicing professionals more credible than experts who rely only on the testimony of a court.
It is also preferable to have an expert witness who has expertise in the field of malpractice. For instance a medical professional who is knowledgeable about treating breast cancer can provide a more convincing argument about the cause of an injury suffered by a plaintiff. An experienced Ocala medical malpractice lawyer will know which experts to call for your case.
