Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

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

According to common law, doctors are required to adhere to a certain level of care when treating patients. If a doctor is found to be in violation of accepted medical practices and results in injury or death, then he could be held liable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals must adhere to set standards that are accepted by the medical profession as being reasonable and prudent in their medical care. A patient may be able to file a lawsuit against a sanger medical malpractice attorney professional if those standards aren't being met and the breach causes injuries or health issues.

The initial step of a malpractice claim is to establish that you had a doctor-patient relationship with the healthcare provider in question and that the person or entity owed you a duty to act with reasonable care. Then, you need to prove the breach of the duty occurred. This is usually done an expert witness that can provide an objective analysis and evaluation.

The expert witness will be able help determine whether or not the defendant's actions were below the standard of care that is accepted in your particular circumstance. To allow the expert to arrive at this conclusion, they will need to be able to review your medical records and conduct an examination or interview of you.

You must also be able to prove that the breach of duty directly led you to experience injuries. Causation is the third factor in a claim for malpractice. In the majority of cases, you will require an immediate cause-and-effect connection between the breach of duty and the resulting injury. A misdiagnosis, for instance may result in prescribing the wrong medication or treatment being administered. This in turn can result in an adverse reaction such as a heart attack.

Breach of Duty

Like all doctors who are legally obligated to act, doctors also have an obligation to act with diligence and care. Doctors are held to higher standards, however, because they are medical experts who make life-or-death decisions. The obligation of care is found in the laws and standards that govern specific kinds of treatments and procedures.

One of the first things to be established in a negligence case is that the defendant was bound by a duty of care to the plaintiff. Then, it needs to be established that the defendant violated that duty of care. This means that the doctor failed to meet the standard of care in the particular situation. The quality of care is usually determined by what a normal person would do under similar circumstances. A reasonable driver, for instance, would not run at a traffic light.

In a malpractice lawsuit experts could be required to testify about the standard of care that was violated and the manner in which this standard was violated. They can also provide a detailed explanation of the reason for the injury and what could be done to prevent it from happening.

Damages

In the United States, physicians are required to have malpractice insurance to protect against potential loss that may result due to medical negligence. In order to file a claim for damages the plaintiff must show actual financial losses (such as medical expenses and lost wages) and non-economic losses (such as suffering and pain).

The amount of compensation you receive from a successful malpractice lawsuit depends on the way in which your New York medical malpractice lawyer presents the case for your losses. Your attorney will establish medically essential costs by examining your medical records, utilizing expert testimony, and collaborating with economic experts. For your loss of earnings the medical malpractice lawyer should also establish the number of days you were off work due to your medical complications and the fact that these absences were the result of the negligence of the defendant.

Non-economic damages are more difficult to prove. You may need the assistance of a professional witness who can describe your physical, mental and emotional suffering as direct result of the defendant's negligence. Other types of non-economic damages include loss of consortium, which is the inability to maintain a romantic and sexual relationship in the same way you used to with your spouse or significant other. The lawyer representing the defendant will contest your non-economic damages through interrogatories and depositions as well as requests for statements and documents under swearing.

Statute of Limitations

In New York, as with every state, there are definite time frames - also known as statutes of limitation within which a medical negligence lawsuit must be filed or otherwise it will be rejected by the courts. An experienced New York medical malpractice lawyer is familiar with these nuances and will ensure that your claim is filed by the deadlines set by law.

In the majority of cases, a victim of medical negligence must make a claim within two-and-a-half years of the date that the act or omission committed by a health care provider caused injury or death. Like all laws, this rule is not without exceptions. For instance, if the health care provider's error was part of a continuous course of treatment, medical the 30 month legal "clock" will not start until the treatment is complete or the patient learns of the diagnosis.

Additionally, in certain situations for instance, when a foreign object is found inside the body after surgery or treatment, it might not be possible for a patient or patient's family to determine that there was a problem until much later. In order to address this issue, the majority of states have embraced the discovery rule. This allows injured victims in certain situations to extend their deadlines. Your attorney will know the specific rules of your state and carefully examine your case's timeline to avoid administrative errors that could delay your claim.