Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Medical professionals must follow the highest standards of care when treating their patients. If a healthcare professional is not able to meet this standard, and this negligence causes injuries or complications to the patient, it may be grounds for a claim for negligence.

A successful malpractice lawsuit may aid in the payment of medical expenses as well as pay back lost wages as well as acknowledge pain and discomfort. However, medical malpractice lawsuits can be complicated.

Misdiagnosis

Misdiagnosis is among the most frequent medical malpractice claims. This type of claim usually involves a healthcare professional incorrectly diagnosing a patient with an injury or illness. For instance, a doctor may diagnose a patient with pneumonia when in reality the patient has a staph infection. A mistake in diagnosis could have serious consequences for the patient including death.

According to medical malpractice insurance companies the diagnosis-related malpractice claims make up for between 9 percent (obstetrics) and 61% (pediatrics) of their total claims. Medical malpractice claims are not as extensive and could be biased towards more serious errors. Most claims are closed or lapse without payment, and many meritorious mistakes do not result in the filing of a malpractice lawsuit.

To succeed in bringing a medical malpractice claim, a plaintiff must prove that the doctor violated the standard of care in diagnosing the condition. The lawyer representing the plaintiff needs to prove that the doctor's error directly led to an injury.

The process of bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit can be time-consuming, expensive and emotionally demanding. While the majority of medical malpractice claims are settled out of court lawyers and expert witnesses have to invest time and money in discovery, negotiations, and trial preparation. Physicians are also often required to pay their malpractice costs as the claims process is unfolding. These costs have prompted calls for reforms to tort law which could reduce the cost of litigation as well as encourage quicker and more fair settlements.

Errors in Treatment

You can expect that when visit a physician or hospital for treatment, the care you receive will be in accordance with the standard of care in your community. This includes proper diagnosis and treatment, a reasonable treatment plan, and the proper follow-up to ensure that your health improves. But mistakes made by doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel could be fatal and cause permanent injuries or even death.

These errors can take many forms. A hospital employee could misread the patient's chart and prescribe the wrong medication. This type of error is common in emergency rooms where staff members are under pressure and their time is a problem. This is also the case when the doctor treats a problem which is outside his or her expertise.

Other types of mistakes include prescribing wrong medications or giving patients the wrong dosage which could cause injury. These mistakes can be made by doctors, nurse practitioners as well as pharmacists, physician assistants and optometrists. These mistakes can also be a result of the failure to suggest or prescribe the appropriate follow-up treatment to fix the mistake.

Mistakes in medication can cause many serious injuries. For example, taking an anticoagulant that is actually intended for heart patients could cause a bleeding disorder or cause a patient to suffer stroke. If you or a loved one has been injured due to an error in medical care and you are concerned about the consequences, consult an experienced New York medical negligence lawyer to determine whether you can claim compensation.

Negligence

If medical professionals or doctors do not follow accepted standards of care, they could be found guilty of carelessness. This can occur in a variety of environments, including hospitals therapy clinics, doctor's offices, and nursing homes. If a doctor fails to adhere to these guidelines and the patient is harmed for a long time the doctor may be required to compensate the victim for that harm.

To prevail in a malpractice case the person who suffered the injury must show that the physician's breach of professional duty caused the injury. Causation is a legal requirement that is essential. The breach must be a direct cause of the injury, and the damage that occurred must be quantifiable. For instance, medical expenses or lost wages.

In the case of medical negligence an attorney for a plaintiff must also convince the jury that it is more likely than not that the physician's actions or inactions caused the damages sought. This can be challenging because people's memories aren't always clear, or they are in the hands of the other side.

It is crucial that the lawyer also is aware of how the medical profession functions. This knowledge can be used to prove that the breach of professional duty caused the patient's injury. Medical malpractice cases can be filed in federal or state courts, and they often require expert witnesses to define the standard of medical care that was breached.

Punitive Damages

We often take for granted that we can trust medical professionals to treat us with expertise and care. However, mistakes of a serious nature can occur that can cause life-long injuries or even death. If these mistakes result in a wrongful demise, the victims and their families could be entitled compensation for the losses that they have suffered.

In the case of wrongful deaths, hospitals, doctors and nurses, physical therapists and pharmacists, as well as diagnostic imaging technicians, as well as manufacturers of medical equipment can be sued. It is important to pursue everyone involved since many parties could be responsible. Victims should work with their New York medical negligence lawyers to determine which people or companies are responsible.

Punitive damages are designed to punish the offender and discourage them from engaging in similar conduct in the future. Contrary to compensatory damages which are designed to address specific harms however, punitive damages can be applied to a whole group of people, and they are usually reserved for extreme misconduct.

The first type of damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit is a reimbursement for actual financial losses, such as expenses for medical care and lost wages. Your New York medical malpractice lawyer can assist you in determining the amount of your losses by presenting expert testimony regarding what constitutes a breach of standards of care in your particular area and specialization. This is an important step since without this evidence, your claim could be dismissed at the preliminary hearing.