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Medical Malpractice Litigation

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

To be able to claim an award of money in a malpractice lawsuit, an injured patient must show that substandard medical care resulted in injury. This requires establishing four legal elements: a professional duty and breach of duty inflicting injury, and the resulting damages.

Discovery

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

In many cases your attorney will record the deposition of the defendant physician and witness, which is an recorded session of questions and answers. This allows your attorney to ask the witness or doctor questions that would not have been allowed at trial. It can be very beneficial in cases that involve experts as witnesses.

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

Infractions to the standard of care

Injuries resulting from a breach of the standard of care

Proximate cause

A doctor's inability to use the level of competence and expertise of physicians in their field of expertise and that resulted in injury to a patient

Mediation

While medical malpractice trials are sometimes essential, they also have major drawbacks for both sides. For plaintiffs, the stress, expense, and the commitment to trial can cause psychological harm on them. For health professionals who are defendants, a trial can result in humiliation and a loss of prestige. It can also have detrimental effects on their career and practice as the monetary settlements they receive as part of settlements prior to trial are reported to national databases for practitioners as well as the state medical licensing board and the medical societies.

Mediation is a less costly and time-efficient option to settle an issue involving medical malpractice. Parties can negotiate more freely since they don't have the cost of a trial and the potential for jury verdicts to be diminished.

Before mediation, both parties are required to provide the mediator with brief information about the case (a "mediation brief"). In this stage, parties usually communicate via their lawyer, and not directly. Direct communication can be used as evidence against them in court. As the mediation progresses it is recommended to concentrate on the strengths of your case, and be prepared to acknowledge its weaknesses as well. This will enable the mediator to fill any gaps and give an acceptable offer.

Trial

The goal of reformers working on torts is to establish a system that compensates those who are injured by physician negligence in a timely manner and without excessive cost. While this is a problem several states have implemented tort reform measures in order to lower costs and prevent frivolous medical malpractice claims.

Most doctors in the United States carry malpractice insurance to safeguard themselves from claims of professional negligence in medical cases. Certain of these policies are required as a condition of hospital privileges or work with a medical organization.

In order to obtain monetary compensation for injuries caused due to the negligence of a physician, the victim must establish that the physician did not meet the standard of care that is applicable in his or her field. This concept is known as proximate cause and is an essential element of a medical malpractice lawsuit.

A lawsuit begins when the civil summons is filed in the court of your choice. After that the parties have to engage in a process of disclosure. This involves written interrogatories and the issuance of documents, including medical record. Depositions are also involved (deponents are questioned by attorneys under oath) and admission requests which are declarations that one side would like the other to accept in whole or part.

The burden of proving the case of medical malpractice is extremely heavy and the damages awarded take into account both actual economic loss like lost income and the cost of future medical care and non-economic losses such as pain and suffering. It is essential to partner with a skilled attorney when trying to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

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 result is an amount for the injured patient, which is paid to the plaintiff's lawyer who deposits it into an account for escrow. The lawyer then deducts the case costs and legal fees as per the representation agreement, and pays the injured person compensation.

To prevail in a medical malpractice lawsuit the patient must prove that a doctor or other healthcare provider violated their duty of care by failing to demonstrate the required level of knowledge and expertise in their area of expertise. They must also prove that the victim suffered harm because of the violation.

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 some instances the case of medical malpractice may be moved to one of these courts. In the United States, physicians carry medical malpractice insurance to safeguard themselves from lawsuits for harm caused by negligence. Physicians need to understand the structure and operation of our legal system to react appropriately if a claim is brought against them.