Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

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

In common law, doctors are expected to adhere to a certain standard of care when treating patients. If a doctor does not adhere to the accepted medical norms and results in a death or injury, he may be liable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals are expected to adhere to a set of standards that are accepted by the medical profession as being reasonable and prudent when they provide treatment. If those standards are not followed and the result is injury or health complications the patient could have grounds to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The first part of a malpractice claim is to establish that you had an arrangement with a doctor-patient healthcare provider in question and that the person or entity was bound to act reasonably. You must then prove the breach occurred. This is typically done with the use of expert testimony that can provide an objective analysis and assessment of the situation.

This expert witness can help determine if the defendant's actions were not in line with the accepted standards in your case. To allow the expert to make this decision they must be able to examine your medical records and conduct an examination or interview of you.

You also need to prove that the breach of duty directly led the injuries. This is known as causation and it is the third element in a negligence claim. In the majority of instances, you'll need to have an exact cause-and-effect link between the breach of duty and subsequent injury. For instance, a misdiagnosis could result in the wrong treatment or medication being administered and that results in an adverse reaction like a heart attack.

Breach of Duty

Doctors, just like other individuals, have a legal obligation to behave with reasonable care and be cautious. However, doctors are held to an even higher standard due to the fact that they are considered experts in medicine who make life and death decisions. The duty of care is set in the laws and standards that apply to certain kinds of treatments and procedures.

One of the primary elements that needs to be established 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 breached this obligation of care. This means that the doctor failed to meet the standards of care in this particular circumstance. The standard of care is generally determined by what a reasonable individual would do in the situation. A reasonable driver, for instance, would not run an intersection at a stoplight.

In a case of negligence, expert witnesses are typically required to testify about the standard of care and how it was violated. They can also explain the cause of the injury and explain how they could have prevented it.

Damages

Physicians in the United States are required to have malpractice insurance to protect the risk of losses resulting from medical negligence. To file an action for damages the plaintiff has to prove actual financial losses (such as Lynchburg Medical Malpractice Attorney (Vimeo.Com) expenses and lost wages) and non-economic losses (such as suffering and pain).

The amount of compensation you receive from a successful malpractice suit is contingent on how effectively your New York medical malpractice attorney argues for your losses. Your attorney can establish medically necessary expenses by examining your medical records, utilizing experts' testimony, and consulting economic experts. For the loss of your earnings the medical malpractice lawyer should also show the number of times you missed work due to your medical conditions and the fact that these days off work resulted from the defendant's negligence.

Non-economic damages can be difficult to prove. You may require the assistance of a professional witness who can explain your physical, mental and emotional pain that is a direct result of the defendant's negligence. Loss of consortium is a second type of non-economic injury. It is the inability to enjoy an intimate, sexual relationship with your spouse or other significant person like you once did. The lawyer representing the defendant will challenge your non-economic damages in the form of depositions and interrogatories along with 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 law firm malpractice lawsuit can be filed. Otherwise the court could dismiss the case. An experienced New York medical malpractice lawyer is aware of these specifics and will ensure that your claim is filed by the deadlines that are set by law.

In most cases, the victim of medical negligence has to file a lawsuit within two-and-ahalf years from the date the act or omission made by medical professionals resulted in injury or death. As with all laws, this rule is not without exceptions. For instance if the error by the health professional was part of a continuous course of treatment, the 30 month statutory "clock" will not start until the course of treatment is completed or Related Web Page until the patient learns of the diagnosis.

In certain instances the patient may not discover the problem until quite a while later, for example in the event that a foreign substance is left in the body following surgery or treatment. Because of this, many states have adopted the legal concept known as the discovery rule, lawsuit which allows injured victims to extend deadlines in certain circumstances. Your lawyer is familiar with the rules of your state and will scrutinize your case timeline carefully to avoid mistakes in the administration which could delay your claims.