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How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

To bring a medical malpractice suit against a physician or hospital you must prove that the defendant has violated their duty towards patients. This evidence could include hospital and medical records.

Our lawyers have years of experience in taking effective depositions. They could be doctors or other medical professionals who are in private practice, or working at a clinic or hospital.

Negligence

When a patient sees a doctor or hospital professional they are entitled to certain standards of medical care. Unfortunately these standards aren't always adhered to or even observed. The results of this breach could be devastating.

When someone suffers injury or death as a result of a physician's negligence, they could bring a lawsuit against the medical professional. To be able to make a valid claim, the patient must prove that there are four legal elements in place which include breach of duty, causation, Firm and damages.

Malpractice is defined as an act or omission of an individual physician that is in violation of the accepted norms of medicine in the medical community, and results in injury to the patient. It is an aspect of tort law, which deals with civil wrongs that do not fall under contractual duties or criminal offenses.

Medical negligence differs from regular negligence because the injured party must show that the doctor was aware that their actions would cause harm to be able to claim malpractice, however normal negligence doesn't. A surgeon who accidentally cuts or nicks an artery or nerve during surgery is guilty of negligence but not malpractice. This is because the doctor didn't intend to cause harm to anyone.

In a lawsuit for medical malpractice, the defendant has an obligation to treat the patient in accordance with the standard of care a reasonably prudent healthcare professional with comparable knowledge and experience in similar circumstances could provide. The breach of this duty is a crucial element because it demonstrates that the alleged negligence caused the injury.

Damages

In a case of malpractice, damages are determined based on the losses you have suffered caused by a doctor's negligence. This can include both financial losses, like future medical costs, and non-economic losses like discomfort and pain.

To recover damages, you have to prove that the doctor breached a duty of care, that the physician's deviation from the norm caused injury, and the injury was measurable in terms of financial consequences. This is a difficult legal analysis that usually requires expert witness testimony.

Some of these losses can be spotted immediately, for example when a mistake made by a doctor resulted in an infection or other medical issue that required additional treatment. Other damage isn't as obvious, for instance if your doctor misdiagnoses you, and you are unable to receive the proper 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 receive in a survival suit.

In most states, there are limits on what you can receive in a malpractice case. The caps differ by state, and often apply to both economic and non-economic damages. Some states have laws that limit the time you can delay before filing a lawsuit.

Time Limits

As with any lawsuit there are deadlines that must be followed or the case could be barred. A malpractice lawsuit is required to be filed between two and six years after the incident occurred. The timeframe for filing a malpractice lawsuit is different for each state.

It is important to consult an attorney as soon as you can. The law firm will conduct an investigation to determine if there was a malpractice occurred and whether it will hold up in the court. This can take several weeks or even months.

Medical malpractice cases involve different laws than other types of cases and often the statute of limitations is modified. In Pennsylvania, a patient has two years from the date that they realized the error. This is referred to as the discovery rule.

In certain states the statutes of limitations begin to run from the date on which the malpractice occurred. This is an issue if the error doesn't cause immediate symptoms. As an example, suppose the doctor is negligently leaving a foreign object inside the body following surgery. The patient may not discover the foreign object until at least three years after surgery. In that case the statute of limitation could have begun to run from the date of the surgery, not from the moment of discovery of the error.

Expert Witnesses

A lot of medical malpractice cases rely on experts to present the facts of the case. Expert witnesses for plaintiffs will be able to testify about the doctor's duty of treating the patient with respect and the medical standards for the area and the specialization for that type of physician who has similar qualifications and abilities and the ways that the defendant departed from the standards. The expert will then explain how the deviance directly led to the patient's injury.

The defendant will engage an expert to counter the plaintiff's expert, and offer their professional opinion on whether or not the doctor met the standards of care. It is common for experts to disagree with each with respect to their opinions, but the fact finder decides who is the most reliable based on their experience and education.

It is best that the expert continue to working in the medical field since they'll have a better knowledge of current practices. Jurors and judges typically consider practicing doctors more trustworthy than experts who rely solely on court testimony.

It is also advisable to have an expert witness who specializes in the field of malpractice. For example an expert in medicine who is well versed in treating breast cancer can provide an argument that is more convincing about the cause of a plaintiff's injury. A medical malpractice attorney in Ocala will know what experts to talk to.