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Why You Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

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

In the common law, doctors must observe a standard of care in treating their patients. If a doctor does not adhere to accepted medical practices and results in injury or death, then he could be held liable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a set of standards that are accepted by the medical profession as reasonable and prudent when they provide care. A patient may be eligible to file a claim for medical malpractice if the standards aren't followed and the failure results in injuries or health problems.

The first element in a malpractice case is to establish that you were a patient of the healthcare provider and that they had a duty to act in a reasonable way. You must then prove the breach occurred. This is typically done with the use of experts who can provide an objective analysis and evaluation of the situation.

This expert witness can help determine if the defendant's actions were below the accepted standard in your particular case. To enable the expert to make this determination, they will need to be able to examine your medical records and conduct an examination or interview of you.

You must also be able to establish that the breach of duty caused the injuries. Causation is the third element in a malpractice lawsuit. In most cases you will require a direct cause & effect relationship between the breach of duties and the subsequent injury. A mistake in diagnosis, for instance can result in prescribing the wrong medication or treatment being administered. This can result in an adverse reaction such as heart attacks.

Breach of Duty

Like all doctors medical professionals, doctors are under a legal obligation to exercise care and prudence. However, doctors are held to a higher standard due to the fact that they are considered medical experts and deal with life and death decisions. The duty of care is outlined in the laws and standards that apply to certain kinds of treatments and procedures.

One of the first elements to be established in a negligence case is that the defendant owed a duty to care to the plaintiff. Then, it has to be established that the defendant breached that duty of care. This means that the doctor failed to meet the standards of care in the particular circumstance. The standard of care is typically determined by what a reasonable person would do in the situation. A reasonable driver, for example, would not run a traffic light.

In a malpractice case expert witnesses could be required to provide evidence on the standard of care that was not met and how this standard was violated. They can also describe the cause of the accident and what could have prevented it.

Damages

Physicians in the United States are required to carry malpractice insurance to cover their potential losses arising from medical negligence. In order to bring an action for damages, the plaintiff must prove both actual financial losses (such as medical malpractice lawsuits expenses and lost wages) as well as non-economic losses (such as pain and suffering).

The amount you receive from a successful malpractice suit is contingent on how effectively your New York medical malpractice attorney defends your losses. Your attorney can establish the medically essential costs by examining your medical records, using experts' testimony, and consulting economic experts. Your medical malpractice law Firms malpractice lawyer must prove the loss of earnings by proving the amount of days that you missed working due to medical complications, and medical malpractice law Firms that these missed days resulted from the defendant's negligence.

Non-economic damages are more difficult to prove. You may need the assistance of a professional witness who can provide details of your physical, mental and emotional distress as direct result of the defendant's negligence. Loss in consortium is another type of non-economic harm. It is the inability to enjoy an intimate relationship with your spouse or other significant person as you used to. The lawyer representing the defendant may challenge your non-economic damages through the use of depositions and interrogatories along with requests for documents and sworn declarations.

Statute of Limitations

In New York, as with every state, there are definite time frames - also known as statutes of limitation within which a medical negligence lawsuit must be filed otherwise it could be dismissed by the courts. A New York medical malpractice attorney who has experience is well-versed in the specifics of these deadlines, and will ensure that your claim is filed prior to the deadlines set by law.

In the majority of cases, the victim of medical negligence must bring a suit within two and a half years of the date that the act or omission of an health professional resulted in the injury or death. Like all laws, this rule is not without exceptions. If, for example, the error committed by the health care provider was part of a continuous course of treatment, then the "clock" of 30 months will not begin until the treatment is completed or the patient has been informed of the diagnosis.

Additionally, in certain instances for instance, when a foreign object is left in the body following surgery or treatment, it may not be possible for a patient to realize the issue until much later. In order to tackle this issue, the majority of states have adopted what is known as the discovery rule. This allows injured victims in certain circumstances to extend their deadlines. Your attorney will know the specific laws in your state and will go over the timeline of your case to avoid any administrative errors that could impede your claim.