A physician’s job is one of the most important and most challenging jobs in our society. With so much at stake, mistakes can happen. And while preventive measures are constantly being improved, medical errors remain the third leading cause of death in the United States.
When those mistakes have a serious effect on patients, the injured party can sue for medical malpractice. However, it’s not just about proving that a doctor made a mistake, but that the patient was actually harmed in some tangible way. To do that, you need to understand what defines medical malpractice and how those claims are evaluated in court.
To prove that a doctor’s actions fell short of the standard of care, you’ll need to provide expert testimony from another medical professional. This will help to clarify whether the doctor’s actions were negligent and whether they would have been different if another medical professional had been handling the case.
Moreover, you’ll need to prove that the doctor’s negligence caused your injury and that injury had a direct impact on your quality of life. This is known as causation and it’s the most difficult element of a medical malpractice claim to establish. This is because it can often be difficult to identify the harm that a medical error causes, since the injury may not manifest itself until a later date and because some injuries, such as amputated limbs, are immediately apparent.
If you can’t prove that a health care provider breached the standard of care and that breach directly caused an injury, your case is unlikely to go anywhere. That’s because the law places a high burden on plaintiffs to prove that a breach of duty was a direct cause of the injury, not just that an injury occurred as a result of a breach.
In addition, you’ll need to comply with a statute of limitations in order to bring a lawsuit. These statutes vary by jurisdiction but in general, they allow you to sue for medical malpractice within a specific amount of time following the incident. This limit is designed to encourage timely claims and protect healthcare professionals from unmeritorious lawsuits that become stale over time.
Moreover, some jurisdictions also have pre-suit procedures that require that you submit an affidavit or certificate from a qualified expert stating that there are reasonable grounds to believe that malpractice has occurred. This will give the defendants a chance to have their experts review the case and provide a report that will impact the court’s decision about whether to permit a medical malpractice lawsuit.
The sooner you contact a New York or Orange County medical malpractice lawyer, the better. At Sobo & Sobo, our attorneys are well-versed in these cases and can begin the process of evaluating your medical malpractice claim as soon as you call us. From our offices in Middletown, Monticello, NYC, Poughkeepsie and Spring Valley, we’re able to serve clients throughout the greater New York and Orange County areas.