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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 governs medical malpractice lawsuits.

Under common law, doctors are required to adhere to a specific standard of care when treating patients. If a doctor is not following the accepted medical standard and results in a death or injury, he may be liable for negligence.

Duty of Care

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of standards which are recognized by the medical profession as being reasonable and prudent when providing healthcare. If those standards are not followed and the result is injuries or health issues patients may have grounds to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The first thing to do in a malpractice case is to establish that you were a client of the healthcare provider and that they had a duty to act in a fair manner. Then, you must show the breach of the duty occurred. This is typically done with the use of expert testimony who can provide an objective analysis and assessment of the case.

This expert witness can help determine if the defendant's actions were less than the accepted standard in your situation. To enable the expert to arrive at this conclusion, 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 directly caused you to suffer injury. Causation is the third factor in a malpractice claim. In the majority of cases, you will need to have an obvious cause-and effect relationship between the breach of duty and the resulting injury. For instance, a wrong diagnosis could lead to the wrong treatment or medication being prescribed and results in an adverse reaction like heart attacks.

Breach of Duty

Doctors, just like other people, have a legal obligation to conduct themselves with reasonable care and prudence. However doctors are held to an even higher standard due to the fact that they are considered experts in medicine and have to make life and death decisions. The obligation of care is found in laws and standards governing certain types of treatments and procedures.

One of the most important elements that must be established in a negligence claim is that the defendant was bound by a duty care to the plaintiff. It must be proven that the defendant violated this obligation of care. This means that the doctor failed to perform to the required standard of care applicable to the situation. The standard of care is typically determined by what a reasonable person would do in the same situation. A reasonable driver, for instance would not operate at a traffic light.

In a malpractice case experts are usually needed to testify regarding the standard of care and the manner in which it was breached. They can also provide the cause of the injury and suggest ways to have prevented it.

Damages

Physicians in the United States are required to have malpractice insurance to protect the potential losses that could result from medical negligence. To file a claim, the plaintiff must demonstrate both financial losses (such medical expenses and lost wages), as well as noneconomic losses (such pain and suffering).

The amount of compensation you receive from a successful malpractice lawsuit is contingent on how effectively your New York medical malpractice attorney argues for your losses. Your attorney can establish medically necessary expenses by examining your medical records, using expert testimony, and consulting economic experts. In order to establish your loss of earnings the medical malpractice lawyer must prove the number of days you missed work due to your medical issues and the fact that the absences resulted from the defendant's negligence.

Non-economic damages are more difficult to prove. You may need the assistance of an expert witness who can describe your mental, physical, and emotional pain as an direct result of defendant's negligence. Loss of consortium is a second type of non-economic harm. It is the inability to have an intimate relationship with your spouse, or any other significant person as you used to. The lawyer for the defendant will attempt to challenge the non-economic damages you suffer through a process of interrogatories, depositions and requests for documents and statements under the oath.

Statute of limitations

As in every state, New York has a statute of limitations that must be fulfilled before a medical malpractice case can be filed. If not the court will not dismiss it. A New York medical malpractice attorney (http://tst.ezmir.co.kr) who is knowledgeable will be aware of the specifics of these deadlines and will ensure that your claim is filed before the deadlines set forth by law.

In the majority of cases, the victim of medical negligence is required to bring a suit within two and a half years from the date the act or omission made by a health care provider caused the death or injury. However like with all laws there are a few exceptions to this rule. For instance in the event that the error of the health care provider was part of a continuous course of treatment, the 30-month statutory "clock" will not begin until the course of treatment is complete or the patient becomes aware of the diagnosis.

In some cases, a patient may not recognize the problem until quite a while later, for example, if a foreign body is left in the body following surgery or treatment. To solve this issue, the majority of states have embraced the discovery rule. This allows injured victims in certain situations to extend their deadlines. Your attorney will be aware of specific laws in your state, and will carefully examine your case's timeline to avoid any administrative errors that can derail your claim.