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Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A medical malpractice lawyer helps injured patients get compensation for their losses. The legal system that regulates medical malpractice cases is built on common law.

In common law, doctors are required to adhere to the standard of care when treating their patients. If a doctor violates accepted medical practice and results in injury or death the doctor could be held accountable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals must adhere to set standards that are accepted by the medical profession as being reasonable and prudent when providing care. If those standards are not followed and the result is harm or health issues, a patient may have grounds to file a medical malpractice lawsuit (artrecord.Kr).

The first part of a malpractice claim involves establishing that you had a doctor-patient relationship with the healthcare provider and that the entity or person owed you a duty to act with reasonable care. The next step is to prove that the breach occurred. This is typically done an expert witness that can provide an objective analysis and evaluation.

The expert witness will be able help determine whether or not the defendant's actions fell below the standard of care that is accepted in your particular situation. The expert will review your medical records, and also interview or question you in order to make this decision.

You should also be able to establish that the breach of duty directly caused you to suffer injuries. This is known as causation and it is the third component of a negligence claim. In the majority of instances, you'll need to have an obvious cause-and effect relationship between the breach of duty and the resulting injury. For example, a misdiagnosis could lead to the wrong medication or treatment being prescribed and can result in an adverse reaction, like heart attacks.

Breach of Duty

Doctors, just like other people, are required by law to fulfill a duty to act with reasonable care and with caution. Doctors are held to an even higher standard, however, because they are medical experts who make life-or-death decisions. The duty of care is outlined in the law and standards that apply to certain kinds of treatments and procedures.

In a case of negligence, it is crucial to prove that the defendant was bound by a duty to care for the plaintiff. Then, it needs to be proved that the defendant did not fulfill that duty of care. This means that the doctor failed to meet the standards of care appropriate to the circumstances. The standard of care is usually determined by what a normal person would do under the same situation. For instance the reasonable driver would not speed through when there is a red light.

In a case of negligence, expert witnesses are often needed to testify on the standard of care and how it was violated. They can also describe what caused the injury and suggest ways to have prevented it from happening.

Damages

Physicians in the United States are required to have malpractice insurance to protect their potential losses due to medical negligence. To make 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 suit for malpractice is contingent upon how well your New York medical malpractice attorney defends your losses. Your attorney will establish medically required costs by looking over your medical records, using expert testimony, and consulting economic experts. Your medical malpractice attorney must prove the loss of earnings by proving the amount of days you were away from work because of medical problems, and proving that these missed days were the result of the defendant's negligence.

The non-economic loss can be more difficult to prove and might require the assistance of a professional who can be able to testify about your physical, emotional and mental suffering due to the infractions committed by the defendant. Loss in consortium is another type of non-economic harm. This is the inability to maintain an intimate, sexual relationship with your spouse or another significant person like you once did. The attorney representing the defendant will challenge the non-economic damages you suffer through depositions, interrogatories, and demands for documents and declarations under the oath.

Statute of limitations

Like every state, New York has a statute of limitations that must be met before a medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed. Otherwise the court will decide to dismiss the case. A seasoned New York medical malpractice lawyer is familiar with these nuances and will make sure that your claim is filed before the deadlines stipulated by law.

In most cases, the victim of medical negligence has to file a lawsuit within two-and-ahalf years from the time the act or omission committed by an health professional caused injury or death. As with all laws this one is not without exceptions. If, for instance, the error made by the health care provider was part of a continuing course of treatment, the "clock" of 30 months will not start until the treatment is completed or the patient is informed of the diagnosis.

In certain instances it is possible that a patient will not discover the problem until a considerable time later, for example, if a foreign body is left in the body following surgery or treatment. In order to address this issue, the majority of states have adopted the discovery rule. This allows injured victims in certain situations to extend their timeframes. Your lawyer will be aware of the rules of your state and will go over your case timeline carefully to avoid any administrative errors that could impede your claim.