Medical malpractice lawsuits are typically complicated, dangerous and costly to pursue. They should never be attempted lightly or without a full understanding of the risks and possible results. Even if your doctor or other healthcare expert committed an error about your particular medical situation, it won?t necessarily be considered clinical negligence. As the plaintiff (the individual who brings the case), you will need to build up a case that consists of a few things before you can claim a medical malpractice claim. If you believe that you have grounds to make a case, then you should think of the following things:
Did your doctor neglect to satisfy their obligation of care?
Obligation of care refers to the medical standard at which your doctor or medical professional should have performed when supporting you in your medical needs. This is the basic understanding of a proper doctor-patient relationship. If you are in the care of a physician, then they have the same duty to provide the same standard of care any other doctor in the same geographic area would, having a similar specialty with similar educational background.
Was there a transgression of duty?
Medical malpractice lawsuits involve either an injury or suffering brought on by a transgression in the duty of care which a doctor or other healthcare professional owes to their patient. For example, say your surgeon stitched you up only to later find out that they forgot to remove their medical tools from your body! A more subtle example might be misdiagnosing and treating you for an infection or disease you do not have, while neglecting to identify or treat the one they failed to diagnose in the first place.
Was there an injury caused by the anomaly?
Remember the example of the medical tool. This could cause pain in a patient?s body, or lead to contamination and infection, or cause damage by puncturing the organs, and a host of other issues. In a medical malpractice lawsuit, you would need to be able to draw a direct line of causation from your healthcare practitioners? actions and mistakes to the injuries you might be sustaining. In this example, it is pretty straightforward, but this is not always the case. In fact, in most cases it can be quite difficult.
Do you have adequate testament?
You must bring sufficient evidence to the court and the judge in order to present the most compelling case. Another requirement during a medical malpractice lawsuit is that as the plaintiff you must hire a medical expert to testify on your behalf. This medical expert must be willing to analyze your medical records which document the medical error and injuries it has caused you. They must then be able to help you communicate these findings to the court. If you do not have any idea what kind of evidence you need, our clinical malpractice attorneys can help you.
How to choose the right medical malpractice attorney?
Because the nature of medical malpractice lawsuits is extremely complex, you will want to choose the best medical malpractice lawyer you can. Additionally, doctors are represented by aggressive defense attorneys who will do everything they can to get a dismissal. Medical malpractice claims are very specialized and require knowledge about a very complicated area of the law.
When you are looking for your own lawyer to represent you in a medical malpractice case, you should consider their background first and foremost. Prioritize the attorneys who have substantial experience in the medical malpractice case that you are experiencing. They should be familiar with medical standards and have medical experts ready to help you.
Any professional lawyer should have a website that details information about their education as well as work experience. Their website should also mention what types of medical malpractice lawsuits they have experience in dealing with. Many professionals will also have testimonials on their website that showcase successful medical malpractice settlements or trials. These are all great things to see when determining who you want to represent your legal case.
In addition to specific medical malpractice experience, you should also look at an attorney?s professional associations and memberships. It?s best to choose a lawyer who not only has a lot of experience winning cases, but one who is a member of personal injury or medical malpractice associations.
After compiling a list of potential attorneys, you might want to interview each one of them before making a final decision. Another option is to research their law firm further and you might also consider calling a local bar association to see whether those attorneys are on the list.
Filing any medical malpractice lawsuit is an extremely complex process. In cases where medical malpractice leads to physical injury or harm in any way, financial compensation related to any additional medical care, loss of income or other economic losses are justified to the victim. This is one of the most complex fields of the law which require navigation by an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Canada. It is critical that you choose a lawyer who is competent and experienced from the very beginning of starting the claims process so that you are able to identify all parties at fault. These things are not always painfully clear, and you will want to make sure that you pursue the right medical professional or medical body as soon as possible.?
Author Bio
Jessica Coates is a blogger in Toronto. She graduated with honors from the University of British Columbia with a dual degree in Business Administration and Creative Writing. Jessica Coates is a community manager for small businesses across Canada. She loves to research about various topics related to law, education, travel and business solutions.
