What Experts Say You Should Be Able To

Medical Malpractice Litigation

Medical malpractice lawsuits are complex and time-consuming. Both defendants and plaintiffs are also required to pay a high price.

To win monetary compensation for malpractice, a patient must prove that the negligent medical treatment that they received caused their injury. This requires establishing four components of law which are professional obligations, breach of this duty, injury and resulting damages.

Discovery

One of the most important aspects of a medical malpractice investigation is obtaining evidence by means of written interrogatories as well as requests for the production of evidence. Interrogatories are inquiries that have to be answered under the oath of the party opposing to the lawsuit and are used to establish the facts for presentation at trial. Requests for documents can be used to acquire tangible items, such as medical records and test results.

In many cases your attorney will record the deposition of the defendant physician that is a recorded session of questions and answers. This allows your attorney to ask the witness or physician questions that would not be allowed during trial. It can be very useful in cases with expert witnesses.

The information gathered in pretrial discovery will be used to prove your claim in court.

Breach of the standard of care

Injuries resulting from a breach of the normal care

Proximate causation

A doctor's inability to utilize the level of competence and expertise of doctors in their area of expertise and that resulted in injury to the patient

Mediation

While medical malpractice trials are often required, they come with significant negatives for both sides. For plaintiffs the pressure, cost, and time commitment of a trial can affect their psychological well-being on them. For defendant health professionals trials can result in humiliation and a loss of prestige. It can also have detrimental consequences for Medical Malpractice Litigation their careers and practice because the monetary payments they make as part of settlements before trial are reported to national practitioner databases as well as the state medical licensing board, and medical societies.

Mediation is the most cost-effective, time-efficient and risk-free method of settling an injury claim. The parties can negotiate more freely when they are not burdened by the expense of a trial and the potential for jury verdicts to be diminished.

Each side must submit a brief summary of the dispute to the mediator prior to mediation (a "mediation brief"). The parties will often allow their communication to go through their lawyer instead of directly between themselves at this point as direct communication could be used against them later in court. As the mediation process progresses, it is best to concentrate on the strengths of your case and be prepared to acknowledge its weaknesses, as well. This will allow the mediator to make sense of any gaps and give you a reasonable offer.

Trial

The aim of tort reformers is to develop a system to compensate those who suffer injury due to medical negligence in a timely fashion and without cost. While this isn't easy however, many states have implemented tort reform measures to cut expenses and to prevent frivolous medical malpractice legal malpractice claims.

Most physicians in the United States carry malpractice insurance to protect themselves against claims of professional negligence medical cases. Some of these policies may be required by a medical or hospital group to be a condition of the right to practice.

To be compensated for injuries resulting from the negligence of a medical professional the injured patient must demonstrate that the doctor did not meet the standard of care that is applicable to the field of work in which he or she is employed. This concept is known as proximate cause, and is an important part of a medical malpractice litigation malpractice claim.

A lawsuit begins by filing a civil summons and complaint in the appropriate court. After that the parties must participate in a process of disclosure. This involves written interrogatories and the creation of documents such as medical malpractice legal records. Also, it involves depositions (deponents are confronted by attorneys under an oath) and admission requests which are statements made by one side that the other wants the other side to admit in total or in part.

The burden of proof in medical malpractice cases is extremely high. The damages awarded are based on the actual economic loss, such as lost earnings and the cost of future medical care and noneconomic losses such as suffering and pain. In the event of pursuing a claim based on medical malpractice, it's crucial to consult a skilled attorney.

Settlement

Settlements are the most commonly used way to resolve medical malpractice lawsuits. In general, the actual dollar value of a case is negotiated between the plaintiff and the defendants (often through or alongside the defendant's malpractice/professional liability insurer). The result is a check for the injured patient, which is given to the lawyer of the plaintiff who then deposits the check into an Escrow account. The lawyer deducts the legal fees and costs in accordance with the representation agreement. Then, he provides the injured victims with compensation.

To prevail in a medical malpractice case the patient who has suffered must prove that a physician or other healthcare professional was bound by a duty of care, but violated the duty by failing to perform the required level of knowledge and expertise in their field, that as a proximate result of the breach, the patient suffered injury, and that such injuries are measurable in terms of monetary losses.

In the United States, there are 94 federal district courts which are equivalent to state trial courts. Each of these courts has an ad hoc jury and judge panel which hears cases. In certain circumstances the case of medical malpractice lawyers malpractice can be transferred to one of these courts. Physicians in the United States typically carry medical malpractice insurance to protect themselves from claims of accidental harm or wrongdoing. Physicians must understand the nature and function of our legal system in order to respond appropriately if there is a case brought against them.