How to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Both lawyers and physicians must invest a lot of time and money in many medical malpractice lawsuits. This can include physician hours and work product and attorney time, court costs as well as expert witness fees and countless other expenses.

A medical malpractice case can be filed if a healthcare professional is negligent or has acted in a manner that is illegal or committed an error or failed to act. The injured party can seek compensation for economic losses, such as past or future medical bills, as well as noneconomic injuries, such as pain and discomfort.

Complaint

A medical malpractice case has many moving parts, and requires evidence that is credible evidence to prevail. The injured person or their attorney, should the patient die, must be able to prove each of these elements:

A hospital or doctor was bound to perform its duties in accordance with the applicable standard of care. The defendant violated this duty. The breach directly caused injury for the plaintiff. This element of an action for malpractice is called "causation." A breach of the standard of care does not cause injury; however, it must be proven that the breach directly caused the injury and was the main cause of the injury.

To ensure the rights of patients, and to ensure that a doctor does not continue to commit mistakes, it is essential to file a claim with the state medical board. A report is not a lawsuit but it could be a good first step in starting the malpractice claim. It is best to consult an Syracuse malpractice attorney prior to filing any report or other document.

Summons

As part of the legal process a summons or claim forms is filed with the court and then handed to the defendant doctor. A lawyer for the plaintiff appointed by the court will go through the documents. If it is determined that there could be a malpractice claim, the lawyer will file an affidavit and complaint with the court, detailing the suspected mistake.

The next step in the legal process is to obtain evidence through pretrial discovery. This involves submitting requests for evidence like hospital billing records or clinic notes, as well as taking the defendant physician's deposition where lawyers question the defendant about his or his knowledge of the case under oath.

The plaintiff's attorney will use this evidence to prove the elements of a medical negligence claim in court. These include the existence of a duty on the doctor's part to provide medical care and treatment to patients; the doctor's infraction of this duty causality between the breach and the patient's injury or death and a significant amount of damages resulting from the death or injury to justly award monetary compensation.

Discovery

During the discovery phase where both parties are permitted to request evidence that is relevant to their case. This includes medical malpractice lawsuits records prior to and after the incident of mishaps, information about experts and tax returns, copies or other documents relating to out-of-pocket expenses which the plaintiff claims to have incurred, and the names and contact details for any witnesses who be called to testify in the trial.

The majority of states have a statute of limitations that limits the length of time that a patient is allowed to pursue a lawsuit after being injured due to an error made by a doctor. These time limits are typically determined by the law of the state and they are subject to rules known as the "discovery rule."

To win a medical malpractice lawsuit, an injured patient has to demonstrate that the negligence of the doctor resulted in a specific injury, such as physical pain, or loss of income. They must also prove causationmeaning, that the negligent treatment was the sole reason for their injury or death.

Deposition

Depositions are essentially question-and-answer meetings that are conducted in the presence a court reporter, who takes notes of the questions as well as the answers. The deposition is a part of the discovery process, in which parties collect information to use in a trial.

Depositions permit attorneys to question witnesses, often doctors for a series of questions. When a doctor is deposed they must answer all questions honestly under the oath. Usually, the physician is questioned questions by an attorney and then cross-examined by another attorney. This is a crucial stage in the trial and the physician has to focus on it with complete attention.

A deposition can help attorneys gain a thorough understanding of the doctor's background in terms of his or their education, training and experience. This information is crucial to prove that the doctor did not meet your standards of care and caused injury. Physicians who have been educated in the area will often be able to prove they have knowledge of specific procedures and techniques that may be relevant to a specific medical-malpractice case.

Trial

Your lawyer will submit a complaint to the court, along with a summons. This begins a legal process of disclosure, referred to as discovery where you and your doctor's team collaborate to collect information to prove your case. This usually includes medical records as well as expert witness testimony.

The purpose of proving malpractice is to establish that your physician's actions did not meet the standard of care. Your lawyer must convince jurors that it is more likely than not your injuries wouldn't have occurred if your doctor acted in accordance with the standard of care. Your doctor's lawyer will present defenses which contradict the evidence presented by your lawyer.

Despite the common belief that doctors are targets for unsubstantiated claims of malpractice, decades of empirical evidence confirm that jury verdicts reflect fair assessments of damages and negligence, and that juries tend to be skeptical of award amounts that are exaggerated. The vast majority of malpractice cases are settled before trial.