Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice lawyer helps patients who have suffered injuries get compensation for their losses. The legal system that governs medical malpractice cases is based on common law.

In common law, doctors must adhere to the highest standards of care when treating their patients. If a doctor does not adhere to accepted medical practice and causes injury or death, then he may be held responsible for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals are required to follow a set of standards accepted by the medical malpractice law firm industry as reasonable and prudent when they provide treatment. If those standards are not followed and the result is injury or health complications the patient may be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The first step in a case of malpractice is to establish that you were a client of the healthcare provider and that they owed you an obligation to act in a reasonable way. The next step is to prove that the breach of that obligation occurred. This is typically done with the recourse to expert witnesses who can provide an objective analysis and assessment of the situation.

The expert witness will determine if the defendant's actions were below the standard of care that is accepted in your particular circumstance. In order for the expert to determine this, they will need to be able to review your medical records and conduct an examination or interview of you.

You should also be able to prove that the breach of duty caused the injury. This is known as causation and it is the third element in a malpractice claim. In most cases you will need a direct cause and effect relationship between the breach of duty and the resulting injury. A misdiagnosis, for instance may result in the wrong medication being prescribed or treatment being given. This could cause a negative reaction such as heart attacks.

Breach of Duty

Just like everyone else medical professionals, doctors are under a legal obligation to exercise the utmost care and caution. However, doctors are held to an even higher standard due to the fact that they are considered medical experts and are able to make life and death decisions. The obligation of care is found in laws and standards for specific kinds of treatments and procedures.

One of the most important elements to be established in a negligence lawsuit is that the defendant owed a duty to care to the plaintiff. It must be established that the defendant did not fulfill this duty of care. This means that the doctor did not meet the standards of care in the specific circumstance. The standard of care is usually determined by what a normal person would do under the same circumstances. A reasonable driver, for instance, would not run a traffic light.

In a malpractice lawsuit, expert witnesses may be required to provide evidence on the standard of care that was violated and the manner in which this standard was breached. They can also describe what caused the injury and what could have prevented it from happening.

Damages

In the United States, physicians are required to carry malpractice insurance in order to cover any potential losses that might arise from medical negligence. To submit an action for damages the plaintiff has to prove actual financial losses (such as medical expenses and lost wages) as well as non-economic losses (such as pain and suffering).

The amount of compensation you receive from a successful lawsuit for malpractice depends on how your New York medical malpractice lawyer presents the case for your losses. Your attorney can establish the medically necessary expenses by examining your medical records, utilizing experts' testimony, and consulting economic experts. Your medical malpractice lawyer must prove your lost earnings by proving the number of days you have missed from work due your medical problems, and proving the reason for these absences were due to the defendant’s negligence.

Non-economic losses can be more difficult to prove and could require the assistance of a professional who can testify about your physical, emotional and mental distress because of the negligence of the defendant. Other types of non-economic losses include loss of consortium, Vimeo.Com which is the inability to maintain a loving and sexual relationship as you did with your spouse or your significant other. The lawyer representing the defendant may challenge your non-economic damages through the use of interrogatories and depositions as well as requests for documents and sworn statements.

Statute of Limitations

Like every state, New York has a statute of limitations that must be fulfilled before a medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed. Otherwise the court will not dismiss the case. A New York medical malpractice attorney who has experience will be familiar with the specifics of these deadlines and will ensure that your claim is filed prior to the deadlines set forth by law.

In the majority of cases, the victim of medical negligence is required to be able to file a lawsuit within two and a half years from the time the act or omission committed by the health professional caused death or injury. As with all laws this one is not without exceptions. If, for example, the error committed by the health care provider was part of a continuous course of treatment, healthndream.com the "clock" of 30 months will not start until the course of treatment is completed or the patient has been informed of the diagnosis.

Additionally, in certain instances, such as when an object that is foreign remains inside the body after surgery or treatment, it might not be possible for a patient to discover that there was a problem until much later. In order to deal with this issue, a majority of states have embraced what is known as the discovery rule. This allows injured victims in certain situations to extend their deadlines. Your lawyer will be aware of the specific rules in your state and will carefully go over the timeline of your case to ensure that there are no administrative mistakes that can derail your claim.