What A Weekly Medical Malpractice Claim Project Can Change Your Life

Medical Malpractice Litigation

Medical malpractice lawsuits can be lengthy and complicated. Both plaintiffs and defendants are also required to pay a high cost.

In order to win the financial compensation sought in a malpractice lawsuit, an injured patient must prove that negligent medical treatment led to injury. This requires establishing four components of law which include professional obligation breach of this obligation, injury and damages.

Discovery

One of the most important elements of a medical negligence case is the collection of evidence through written interrogatories and requests for documents to be produced. Interrogatories are questions that need to be answered under oath by the opposing party to the lawsuit. They can be used to establish the facts needed to be presented in court. Requests for documents can be used to get tangible items, for example, medical records and test results.

In many cases, your attorney will record the deposition of the defendant physician and witness, which is an audio recording of questions and answers. This permits your attorney to ask the doctor or witness questions that would not be allowed at trial and Medical Malpractice Lawsuit can be extremely effective in a case with expert witnesses.

The information you gather during pretrial discovery is used in trial to prove the following components of your claim:

Breach of the standard of care

Injuries resulting from the violation of the standard of care

Proximate cause

A doctor's inability to utilize the level of expertise and knowledge of doctors in their field, and that resulted in injury or harm to the patient

Mediation

Medical malpractice trials can be necessary, but they also have many disadvantages. For plaintiffs who are facing a lawsuit, the stress, expense and the commitment to trial can cause psychological harm on them. For defendant health professionals trials can result in humiliation and loss of prestige. It can also lead to adverse effects on their practice and career because the financial benefits received in a pre-trial settlement are typically reported to national databanks for practitioners states medical licensing boards, and medical societies.

Mediation is a cheaper and time-efficient method of settling cases of medical negligence. Eliminating the expense of trial and avoiding eroding jury verdicts allows both parties to be more flexible in settlement negotiations.

Before mediation, both parties provide the mediator with a brief of information on the case (a "mediation brief"). The parties typically permit their communication to be done through their lawyer, rather than directly between themselves at this stage since direct communications could be used against them later in court. As the mediation process progresses, it is best to focus on the strengths of your case and be ready to recognize its weaknesses as well. This will allow the mediator to make sense of any gaps and make an acceptable offer.

Trial

Reformers of the tort system are seeking to create a system which compensates those hurt by negligence caused by doctors quickly and without a lot of expense. Many states have adopted tort reform measures to cut costs and to stop frivolous claims for medical malpractice.

The majority of doctors in United States have malpractice insurance as a means of protecting themselves from claims of professional negligence. Some of these policies may be required by a medical or hospital group as a condition for permissions.

To claim compensation for injuries caused due to a medical practitioner’s negligence, the injured patient must demonstrate that the doctor failed to meet the standards of care applicable to his or her profession. This concept is known as proximate cause, and is a key element in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

A lawsuit starts when an order for civil summons is filed with the court of your choice. Once this is completed both parties must engage in a process of disclosure. This involves written interrogatories and the issuance of documents, like pomona medical malpractice lawyer records. Depositions (in which lawyers question witnesses under an oath) as well as requests for admission are also involved.

The burden of proof in a medical malpractice case is extremely heavy and the damages awarded take into account the actual economic loss such as lost earnings and the cost of future medical care as well as non-economic losses, such pain and suffering. When pursuing a claim for medical malpractice, it is important to work with a skilled attorney.

Settlement

Medical malpractice lawsuits are settled through settlement. 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 patient who is injured receives an amount of money and it is given to the plaintiff's lawyer who then deposits it into an Escrow account. The lawyer deducts legal fees and case expenses in accordance with the representation agreement. Then, he pays the injured patients compensation.

In order to prevail in a medical malpractice case the aggrieved patient has to demonstrate that a doctor or other healthcare provider owed them a duty of care, but violated that duty by failing exercise the requisite degree of knowledge and skill in their field, that as a proximate result of the breach, the victim sustained injury, and that such damages are quantifiable in terms of monetary loss.

In the United States, there are 94 federal district courts that are comparable to state trial courts. Each of these courts has an ad-hoc jury and judge panel which hears cases. In certain situations medical malpractice cases may be transferred to one of these courts. In the United States, physicians carry medical malpractice insurance as a way to protect themselves from claims of harm that is not intentional. Doctors must be aware of the nature and workings of our legal system in order that they can react appropriately to a lawsuit brought against them.