Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice lawyer helps injured victims get compensation for their losses. The common law system regulates medical malpractice lawsuits.

Under common law, doctors are expected to adhere to a certain level of care when treating patients. If a doctor does not adhere to accepted medical procedures and causes injury or death, they could be held accountable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals are required to follow a set of standards accepted by the medical industry as reasonable and prudent when providing healthcare. When those standards are not adhered to and the failure results in injuries or health problems, a patient may be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The first step in a malpractice lawsuit is to prove that you had a doctor-patient relationship with the healthcare provider in question and that the entity or person owed you a duty to act in a reasonable manner. You then need to prove that the breach occurred. This is usually done through the recourse to expert witnesses who can provide an objective analysis and evaluation of the situation.

This expert witness will be able to help determine whether or not the defendant's actions fell below the accepted standard of care in your particular situation. The expert will examine your medical records and interview or cross-check you in order to make this decision.

You must be able to establish that the breach directly caused your injury. Causation is the 3rd element in a malpractice lawsuit. In the majority of cases, lawsuit you'll need a direct cause and effect relationship between the breach of duty and the subsequent injury. For example, a misdiagnosis could result in the wrong treatment or medication being prescribed and in turn causes an adverse reaction, such as heart attacks.

Breach of Duty

Like all doctors, doctors have a legal obligation to act with care and prudence. However doctors are held to a more stringent standard because they are considered medical experts and have to make life and death decisions. The obligation of care can be found in laws and standards for specific kinds of treatments and procedures.

One of the primary elements that must be proven in a negligence lawsuit is that the defendant was bound by a duty of 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 standard of care in this particular situation. The quality of care is usually defined by what an average person would do under similar situations. For example the reasonable driver would not stop at the red light.

In a malpractice lawsuit expert witnesses could be needed to testify on the standard of care that was violated and the manner in which this standard was breached. They can also explain how the injury occurred and what could be done to stop it from occurring.

Damages

Physicians in the United States are required to carry malpractice insurance to cover their potential losses due to medical malpractice attorneys negligence. To file a lawsuit, the plaintiff must demonstrate both financial losses (such medical expenses and lost wages) and non-economic losses (such suffering and pain).

The amount of compensation received from a successful malpractice lawsuit is contingent upon the way in which your New York medical malpractice lawyer presents the case for your losses. Your attorney can establish the medically necessary expenses through a review your medical records, testimony from experts and the use of economic experts. Your medical malpractice lawyer must prove the loss of your earnings by proving the amount of days you were absent working due to medical issues, and the fact that these days resulted from the negligence of the defendant.

Non-economic damages are more difficult to prove. You may need the assistance of an expert witness who can detail your physical, mental and emotional distress 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 sexually satisfying and loving relationship like you used to with your spouse or significant other. The lawyer representing the defendant may challenge your non-economic damages through the use of depositions and interrogatories along with requests for lawsuit documents or sworn statements.

Statute of limitations

In New York, as with every state, there's a set of time frames - also known as statutes of limitation within which a medical negligence lawsuit must be filed or otherwise it will be dismissed by the courts. A seasoned New York medical malpractice lawyer is knowledgeable about these particulars and will ensure your claim is filed before the deadlines stipulated by law.

In most instances, the victim of medical malpractice must file his or her lawsuit within two and a half years from the date that the negligence or act of a doctor or other health professional resulted in the death or injury. However as with all laws, there are a few exceptions to this rule. For instance, if the error of the health care provider was part of a ongoing course of treatment, then the "clock" of 30 months cannot begin until the course of treatment has been completed or the patient has been informed of the diagnosis.

In some cases, a patient may not be aware of the issue until a considerable time later, for example when a foreign object remains in the body following surgery or treatment. Because of this, many states have enacted the legal concept of discovery rule which permits injured victims to extend deadlines in certain instances. Your lawyer will be aware of the specific rules in your state, and will carefully examine your case's timeline to avoid any administrative errors that could delay your claim.