Medical malpractice cases are complex and often need experts to provide evidence. Filing a malpractice claim can be fairly straightforward, and having an experienced New York medical malpractice lawyer to guide you through the process can help smooth out the bumps.
A solid attorney knows all three essential components for victory—duty of care, breach of duty, and damages—and knows the medical experts who are trained in those fields. A professional working on your behalf can ensure your case is thoroughly evaluated and your rights are safeguarded.
Duty of care
Physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals have a duty to provide patients with competent care. This refers to the relationship you have with the medical professional and the patient.
The first step in proving a medical malpractice case is to demonstrate that the physician owed the patient a legal duty. Most of the time, that involves showing that what a medical professional did was outside the acceptable standard of care in their field.
A hospital is accountable for their own negligence—for example, the negligence of the nurses and staff members who worked under their supervision. In such situations, the poorly functioning hospital could have contributed to the doctor’s and other health provider’s failures to give their patients proper care.
Breach of Duty—One of the four essential elements the patient must prove in a medical malpractice case. It must be shown that the medical professional violated his or her duty to the patient and that this led to injury or death.
After a patient’s duty is established, a medical professional must prove that their actions fell below or below the acceptable standard of care for their profession. This is done by proving that a medical professional failed to provide their patient with the skill, experience, and diligence that other doctors or nurses in similar situations would have, leading to the patient’s injury or death.
This can be difficult because it must be shown that the doctor’s breach of professional duty actually proximately caused the patient’s injury or illness. This is frequently done by retaining expert testimony from doctors who are specialists in the medical industry and are acquainted with the underlying conditions that the allegedly negligent doctor was treating their patient for.
In medical malpractice cases, it is common to come up against the hurdle of establishing whether or not the doctor’s negligence directly caused the patient’s injury or death. This is because the law sets higher bars for proximate causation.
Whether your doctor was negligent in his or her actions or had malicious intent, you should be compensated for injuries you sustained due to it. An experienced medical malpractice attorney can help you recover the benefits that you are entitled to. Call a New York malpractice lawyer now for your free consultation.
Breach of duty
Medical malpractice attorneys assist patients in substantiating their damages claims. They usually call expert witnesses to testify about the treatment, diagnosis or decision that a doctor made that failed to meet the accepted standard of care. They may also draw upon their own knowledge and experience to demonstrate that a healthcare provider’s act was negligent.
If a medical professional performs negligently, he/she violates their duty of care to the patient. It is a breach of this legal duty that gives rise to a medical malpractice suit.
In most cases, the patient ends up with a poorer outcome due to the doctor’s negligence. This can happen, for example, due to misuse of a surgical instrument, inadequate training for a procedure, or a lack of monitoring of the patient’s condition.
The jury ascertains whether the doctor’s conduct was breached by concentrating on aspects of what a reasonable man would do in such events. This is known as the “reasonable person” standard.
Once a medical professional’s behavior has been found to be breached, the next phase of a malpractice case is to prove that this negligence caused an injury to the patient. This can be challenging for a variety of factors, not the least of which is that the misconduct has to be separate from the medical illness or injury that the patient experienced.
In order to prove this, a plaintiff must establish that there is a direct connection between the misconduct and the injury. This relationship is described as “proximate causation.”
While it can be incredibly difficult to prove negligence and an injury are directly related, there are lawyers who will help you reach that conclusion. They can and will demonstrate that the defendant’s conduct was a substantial factor in bringing about the plaintiff’s injuries.
In many cases, victims of negligence cannot demonstrate all three elements of the negligence claim. But they can still seek damages for their injuries.
The first thing you have to prove is that the defendant had a duty of care to you. The second element, once you do that, is proving they breached that duty. This is the crux of the claim.
Damages
If you received care (or lack thereof) from a doctor or another medical professional that fell short of reasonable care, you might be able to sue for damages. Monetary losses, or damages, or in terms of pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, etc.
A medical malpractice lawyer would know how to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve for your damages. To be successful in a medical malpractice claim, you need to establish that the doctor or other medical provider violated their duty of care to you and that this violation caused you harm.
You also have to be able to demonstrate that the breach of duty was a direct cause of your injuries, or that it was so closely related to the injury as to have a legally sufficient connection—this is known as proximate causation.
There are several ways to compute damages in a medical malpractice case, including:
Loss of income (or earning ability)—This is typically calculated as the amount of money that you would have earned if the physician or healthcare provider had done their job and provided you the care that they failed to do. This may include lost wages, future income you would have earned and any medical bills not paid by your insurance provider.
Costs related to the adjustment of life to your injuries—This can also include costs related to things like physical therapy, surgeries, and the cost of the medications needed to treat said injuries. You must be able to show these costs were essential to your recovery.
Pain and suffering—The pain that you are feeling as a result of your injuries can be quantified. This can take the form of many different symptoms, including pain in your back, neck, shoulders and head; issues walking or driving; sleeplessness or anxiety; losing your appetite; cognitive problems; depression; and more.
Your medical malpractice lawyer will also be able to recover punitive damages in addition to economic and non-economic damages; punitive damages punish the at-fault party and deter others from negligent conduct. For instance, punitive damages are awarded for intentional destruction of medical records or sexually abusing a patient.
Statute of limitations
One of the most important things you need to consider when filing a medical negligence claim is the statute of limitations. If you do not file in the time allowed, then you will likely have your case dismissed without any judge hearing your claims.
Laws differ from state to state, but generally medical malpractice actions have a two-year statute of limitations. This period begins when a patient knows, or should have known, that they were harmed by medical negligence.
There are, however, certain exceptions that may extend the time limit. This period can even be extended to four years from when the victim learned of the harm if the health care provider hid the malpractice through fraudulent means (an intentional misrepresentation of fact).
There are exceptions for minor children and for those who were mentally ill or disabled at the time of the malpractice, as well. These exceptions are provided for in sections 214-A and 208 of New York Civil Practice Law and Rules.
For minors, it is three years from the date of their 18th birthday. If a foreign object was left in a person’s body and they were harmed, the statute of limitations is 10 years from the date the foreign object was discovered or should have been discovered.
Whatever the situation, if you are a victim of medical malpractice, you should speak to a qualified lawyer as soon as possible. Memory fades, and over time evidence can be lost, so it’s best to act quickly.
A medical malpractice lawyer could help you determine if you have a case, and if you do, make sure your claim is filed within the proper statute of limitations. Call our office today for a free initial case consultation.
A new report says lawmakers in New York might soon be able to introduce a bill to extend the statute of limitations for medical malpractice. The proposed bill, if signed into law, would provide victims of medical malpractice an additional 10 years past the negligent act or omission to file a claim.
More like the law is a very complex matter that muddling it needs expert legal representatives. Contact a medical malpractice attorney immediately if you are a victim of medical negligence.
