Medical Malpractice & Legal Malpractice

broken image

A medical malpractice lawsuit is initiated either by individual filing a personal complaint,  Legal Bay Lawsuit Funding complaint form, or summons; these legal papers are known as the pleadings. In some states, the lawsuit is initiated only by service of Process by certified service of legal paper by qualified private process server; these papers are then served to the individual defendant by certified mail with a receipt showing proof of service. The individual is then given a copy of this legally authorized document, usually a paper copy, for personal recall of service. Alternatively, in the case of a non-custodial state, service can be done by the filing party. A legal process server may serve a copy of the complaint and summons by personal service, certified mail or by fax. In either event, the papers shall then be served on the opposing party.

Medical negligence is the basis of any lawsuit against a practitioner for negligence. Commonly, a plaintiff has alleged that he or she was injured, mentally injured, psychologically injured, physically injured, as well as emotionally injured, by the actions of the physician, surgeon, physician assistant, nurse, or other health care provider during a treatment procedure. If, after reasonable attempts at diagnosis, treatment or care, a health care provider breach the duty of care owed to the patient and caused harm or injury, a plaintiff may bring a lawsuit against the health care provider for breach of duty. In order to bring such a lawsuit, the plaintiff must show that (a) there was a breach of a duty of care; (b) that harm resulted from that breach; (c) that damages resulted from that breach; and (d) that the breach proximately caused harm or injury to the plaintiff.

The typical basis for a malpractice claim is that a doctor or health care provider failed in his or her duty of care to the patient. The duty of care owed to the patient includes but is not limited to: providing appropriate medical care, avoiding unnecessary risks to the health and welfare of the patient, and promptly reporting changes in the health of the patient to the patient's physician. A patient may also seek damages for an injury resulting from the doctor's or health care provider's negligence. The damages sought in such lawsuits must reflect actual damages suffered, either physical or mental, or an amount that will fully restore the victim's loss or damage. In many instances, mental suffering and emotional distress are also taken into consideration.

In a medical malpractice case, there are two key elements that require thorough and careful investigation to determine whether or not the health care provider's breach of duty has actually caused the injury. First, there must be a reasonable mistake that has resulted in the injury. Second, the error must have had a detrimental impact on the health and welfare of the patient. Beyond these two elements, there will be circumstances that come forward that may cast doubt on the reasonableness of the breach of duty. A plaintiff often relies on expert witnesses in order to further their case.

Often times, when victims pursue a lawsuit, they are able to receive a settlement in the form of a court award or monetary settlement. However, this often does not negate the damage done by the medical malpractice. The statute of limitations in these instances will vary by state. Many victims of medical negligence choose to pursue a case in civil court to ensure they receive fair compensation. A good example of this would be the situation in which the plaintiff is seeking monetary compensation due to the fact that the patient was left with permanent nerve damage as a result of the negligence of a healthcare professional. Learn more on this homepage which has more information about Medical Malpractice & Legal Malpractice.

A medical malpractice lawsuit arises when a professional conduct can be proven to have breached the duty of care owed. When this breach of duty is proven, the injured party may be entitled to damages based upon the fact that the breach of the duty of care resulted in some harm to the injured person. A plaintiff is usually able to obtain a judgment in this instance, and often times it is the healthcare professional who is ordered to pay damages. As you can see, there are many different elements involved in a legal malpractice case. Depending upon the state, a lawsuit may be brought forward in order to hold a healthcare provider accountable for his/her actions. Find out more details in relation to this topic here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_malpractice.