How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

A patient who believes he or she suffered losses due to a mistake made by a healthcare provider can file a lawsuit for medical malpractice attorney malpractice. These cases differ from personal injury lawsuits because they use a professional standard to determine the extent of negligence.

In the United States, malpractice claims are resolved through state trial courts. Each state has its own laws and procedures.

Duty of care

A doctor, surgeon or nurse, or any other health care professional, owes their patients a duty of care. This legal concept states that anyone who is a health professional treating patients is bound to follow the accepted medical procedures.

The medical standard of care is the legal yardstick to which all medical malpractice claims are judged. It is vital to a successful claim, because it offers a specific way for the person who was injured and his or her attorney to prove negligence by showing that a medical professional failed to adhere to the standards of care.

A qualified medical expert is often required to prove the standard of care. They are essential in determining the standard of care that applies to the case and the extent to which defendants have did not meet this standard.

It is also important to establish that the breach of duty was the cause of your injury, illness or death. In medical malpractice lawsuits damages could include hospital bills and lost income and future earning capacity, pain, suffering, and even punitive damages. Your lawyer must prove the value of the damages, which could be greater than the original medical expenses. In certain cases this is less difficult than in others. In certain cases it is simpler than in others.

Breach of duty

A physician has a duty to act in accordance with the medical standards of care when delivering treatment or services. A patient who is injured as a result of negligence by a physician can file a malpractice lawsuit.

Medical negligence can involve a wide range of actions, including erroneous diagnosis, medication dosage and medical health management, as well as treatment and aftercare. For a lawsuit to be valid, the plaintiff must prove four legal elements. These are the following:

The first requirement is an established doctor-patient relationship. The physician is obliged to inform patients about any risks or issues that may arise during the procedure. Even if the procedure is completed in a perfect manner, the doctor could be held liable for malpractice in the event that they fail to inform the patient. If the physician did not warn the patient that a specific procedure could have 30% chance of causing limb loss, then the patient may not have gotten consent.

The other element to be proved is a breach in the standard of care. To do this, the lawyer must be able to present expert testimony to prove that the doctor was not following the standard of care. It must also be established that the breach of standard of care resulted in the patient's injuries.

It can take a long time to settle medical negligence claims in the court system. This includes a great deal of physician and attorney time, extensive review of the records, interviewing experts and conducting research into the medical and legal literature. A doctor who is facing a malpractice suit will have to pay hefty court costs, Medical attorney's work products and expenses, as well as expenses for expert testimony.

Causation

All healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals are human and have the potential to make mistakes. When those mistakes rise to the level of medical malpractice, patients are afflicted with serious and even life-changing injuries. It requires the expertise of both lawyers and doctors to prove that a health provider has acted negligently of duty and thereby caused injury. A successful case requires four legal elements to prove: a physician-patient relation as well as the duty of a doctor to care towards the patient, the breach of that duty, and finally, the harm that resulted from the breach.

The injury has to be proven to be caused by the doctor's deviance from the standard of medical care. This is a more stringent legal standard than "beyond reasonable doubt" in criminal cases. The lawyer representing the plaintiff has to convince the jury or fact finder that it is more likely than not that the physician's actions were negligent, and that negligence was a reason for the injury.

A medical expert is often needed early in the process to help establish all of these elements. Under Rhode Island law, only doctors with the right knowledge, education, experience as well as expertise regarding the area of claimed malpractice can provide an expert testimony on the matter. This is why selecting a qualified medical expert is an essential element of the malpractice case.

Damages

A medical malpractice lawsuit aims to recover damages, which include the past and future expenses resulting from an injury. These costs could include hospital bills or doctor visits, injuries and suffering, and even lost wages. The amount of damages to be awarded is determined by a jury based on the evidence submitted.

The plaintiff or their attorney must establish four legal aspects during the trial: (1) the physician owed a duty to them; (2) the doctor did not fulfill this duty due to negligence; (3) the doctor’s negligence caused injuries; (4) the injury led to measurable damages. A dissatisfaction with a doctor's work is not considered to be malpractice, but the actual injury must be present. A medical professional can determine whether a physician has strayed from the norm of medical practice.

The legal process of a malpractice lawsuit can go on for years, with extensive time spent in "discovery," which involves the exchange of documents and the statements given under oath to the parties involved in the case. Many cases are settled before they reach the courtroom. However, a tiny percentage of these claims make it to the trial stage for jury.

To limit liability for malpractice, some states have taken several administrative and legislative measures collectively referred to as tort reform. In addition, some states have implemented alternative dispute resolution procedures such as voluntary binding arbitration. The objective of these alternative methods to civil litigation is to reduce litigation expenses and expedite the settlement of malpractice claims while removing juries that are too generous and weeding out unnecessary medical claims.