What Are The Different Types Of Medical Malpractice Claims?
Medical malpractice occurs when a patient has been harmed by a doctor or another medical professional who fails to perform his or her medical duties competently.
The laws surrounding medical malpractice vary from state to state.
A Glance At The Types Of Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice claims usually arise from a variety of contexts and certain claims arise more often than others. Listed below are some of the common types of medical malpractice claims.
Birth injury claims
The birth injury claim alleges that a doctor’s negligence has injured the newborn baby or the mother in some way. Moreover, the negligence might have occurred during pregnancy, labor, delivery or right after delivery.
Surgical malpractice claim
When you enter for surgery, you are putting your life in the hands of the doctor and surgical errors may occur.
Common examples of surgical errors that entitle victims for compensation include operating on the wrong body part, performing the wrong procedure, removing the wrong limb … etc.
To receive compensation for such medical malpractices, hiring experienced medical malpractice lawyers is the best approach
Failure to diagnose claims
When doctors fail to diagnose health conditions, patients suffer. If you’ve experienced something similar where your condition went undiagnosed and untreated, this might result in weeks or months of discomfort or pain (and sometimes death!) that might have been avoided if the condition was diagnosed in the first place.
In some cases, a failure to diagnose might result in your condition progressing to the point where you need a more serious treatment than you would have if the doctor diagnosed the condition earlier.
You want to take the proper legal steps and demand compensation for the pain you’ve experienced. Hiring a“malpractice attorney near me” is the next step to take.
If you believe you have faced medical malpractice that has injured you, you must speak to an attorney right away.
Some Special Requirements In Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Cases
Many states have certain rules and procedures for medical malpractice claims. It’s essential to know about the rules and follow them carefully.
Medical malpractice cases need to be brought up soon after the injury. The time period in which you need to file the lawsuit is called the statute of limitations and varies from state to state. If you don’t file a lawsuit within the specified period of time, the court will dismiss the case regardless of the facts.
Exactly when the time period clock starts depends on the state as well, either it starts when the negligent act occurred or when you have discovered or should have discovered the injury.
In both of these cases, you need to find a medical malpractice attorney. They will help you file a case for medical malpractice against the responsible doctor.
What To Know About Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Settlements?
Given the backlog of cases, it usually takes a year or two or more before medical malpractice lawsuits conclude in court or arbitration. The attorney can give you options to receive a settlement out of court if your case is winnable.
How long would the medical malpractice lawsuit take?
The time it takes to complete the medical malpractice lawsuit depends on the strength and complexity of the case. Some cases settle within a year, some two years and some head to court or contractually-binding arbitration.
How Does A Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Work?
Discovery
Once your attorney files a complaint and all the involved parties have been served with the lawsuit, both sides should begin the process of discovery.
During discovery, both sides would seek information, evidence and related documentation from the other party in an attempt to gather facts for building the case.
During this stage, the defense and plaintiffs would need to hire experienced medical witnesses to discuss the case and to determine the merits of the medical negligence complaint.
Expert medical witness
A third-party expert medical witness would be called upon by both parties separately for investigating the case details, establishing the standard of care and determine if and how medical malpractice has occurred. If our expert thinks that malpractice has occurred, the lawsuit would proceed.
Negotiating a settlement
If in the discovery period it has been established that the case has merit, the defense would likely opt for an out of court settlement.
Like any other negotiation, the defense attorney representing the insurance provider would do their best to minimize the amount that their client needs to pay for the lawsuit.
On the other hand, your lawyer would consider the strength of the case when determining an appropriate settlement amount.
If the attorney doesn’t offer a fair settlement amount, you must find a medical malpractice attorney medical malpractice attorney who would take the case to trial.
Concluding Words
Medical malpractice is a serious issue and should never be handled by inexperienced people. If you think you have experienced some form of medical malpractice and need legal assistance, seeking out an attorney is the next step to take.
