Medical malpractice lawsuits are an extremely serious topic and have affected numerous patients, doctors, and hospitals across the country. Medical malpractice is defined as “improper, unskilled or negligent treatment of a patient by a physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, or other health care professional” (Medical malpractice, n.d.). If a doctor acts negligent and causes harm to a patient, malpractice lawsuits arise. Negligence is the concept of the liability concerning claims of medical malpractice, making this type of litigation part of tort law. Tort law provides that one person may litigate negligence to recover damages for personal injury. Negligence laws are designed to deter careless behavior and also to
If a medical malpractice case goes to court, the plaintiff (the patient) needs a medical malpractice lawyer (a lawyer specialized on this type of cases). Cases like this are very expensive and very difficult to win. The plaintiff and the medical malpractice lawyer must clearly establish the tort of negligence in order to have a successful medical malpractice claim. Just like in every tort case, the parties share information they discovered. The information could include depositions, interrogatories and requests of documents. It is possible that the case could be solved pre-trial, only if both parties agree on negotiated terms. The case only goes to trial if the parties cannot
One of the most frustrating things about being a victim of medical malpractice or medical negligence is that, as you deal with the many issues surrounding your injury, the time you have to take action is steadily ticking away. You may wonder if you should focus on your recovery or on managing the issues around your loved one’s death before you look into filing a malpractice lawsuit. That can make it very difficult for you to be made whole or find justice.
Across the country, there are calls for medical malpractice tort reform based on the perception of frivolous lawsuits by patients with patients without valid claims and less-than-scrupulous lawyers are willing to prosecute them. On the one hand, the fact that some plaintiffs have received enormous settlements as a result of their medical malpractice lawsuits further fuels the debate that tort reform is needed to avoid these types of settlements that are incongruent with the facts. On the other hand, though, few observers would likely argue that some type of medical malpractice protections are required in order to protect patients from truly substandard and dangerous medical care practices and to compensate them for their injuries when these eventualities occur. One state that has implemented reasonable malpractice statutes and procedures that avoid these two extremes is Ohio where legislators passed tort reform laws in 2002. By contrast, many of the State of Michigan's laws on medical malpractice date back 40 years. This paper provides a description of the provisions of the medical malpractice statutes and procedures from these two states, followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.
When you are not feeling well, you go to health care professional for getting the required treatment. But what if, instead of getting the requisite and standard known treatment your condition deteriorates? If you feel that your health care professional has neglected in his/her duty towards you, you are entitled to sue the erring party for negligence. You will have to hire an excellent Personal Injury Lawyer Brant as medical negligence personal injury cases are difficult to fight and prove.
Health care organizations, particularly hospitals, currently face numerous legal issues, several of which will be examined in this paper. The first issue to be examined is medical malpractice and the tort system.
The process in which to file a civil complaint against a physician is to first contact the facility’s medical board. If the complaint is within jurisdiction, within the seven year time frame, and shows evidence of breach of duty, causation, and harm or injury, the person who complained will receive an acknowledgement letter advising them that the board has received their complaint and that it will be forwarded to an analyst for review. If the complaint concerns the care and treatment received, copies of the medical records will be requested by the analyst and a written summary of their care from the physician, along with the authorization for release of medical information. The analyst will contact any subsequent physician(s) listed on the authorization forms. When all requested documents have been received, the person who complained with received a notice stating that all their information including the complaint(s) has been sent to medical consultants for review. The reviews are
One implication of the medical malpractice crisis is that specialists in high risk fields are considering and/or leaving their practice which is drastically affecting the quality of patient care; treatment for patients who need specialists is declining rapidity (Cline & Pepine). Insurance rates are so high that many doctor’s either can’t afford it and/or do not think it is worth staying in the practice. Patients are often forced to travel long distance for a specialist; waiting long hours at an overcrowded doctor’s office with less efficiency in the quality of medical care (Cline & Pepine).
Lawsuits of medical malpractice may be the greatest threat to justice in the legal system. Tort cases are constantly filed against medical practices which cause health care prices to dramatically increase in states lacking caps. Medical practitioners are forced to undergo an unnecessary amount of costly tests and procedures in order to defend themselves from frivolous lawsuits. The expenses of these precautions cause hospitals and other medical facilities to charge more for the care given to the patients,
The United States legal system exists with many favorable conditions for filing malpractice lawsuits, including low burden of proof requirements, lax limits on damage awards, and the lack of a cost-sharing provision on filing a legal action.
This begs the question of: Are physicians being sued unfairly? It may seem like this is the case, but in doing research it seems like it’s really a wash.
Medical Malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional provides substandard care, whether intentional or unintentional, causing injury or damage to a patient. In order to demonstrate medical malpractice, the plaintiff-patient has the responsibility of the burden of proof. The plaintiff-patient must prove a preponderance of evidence, or clear concise evidence of malpractice by supplying four elements of proof. First the plaintiff must show that the provider owed the patient a professional duty of care. Next the plaintiff has to demonstrate that the professional duty owed to them was violated or breached. After that the plaintiff must demonstrate that injury resulted from the said violation or breach. Finally, the patient
If you’ve been injured as a result of medical malpractice on behalf of a healthcare professional, securing the assistance of a dependable Jersey City law office is crucial to ensure the best possible outcome for your case. To this end, a personal injury lawyer from Dorrity Law Office can assist you in making sense of claims related to negligent medical treatment. This law firm has been a staple among local clients thanks to more than 42 years of combined legal experience.
A medical malpractice claim can be approached through a few different theories of law. One of those is the tort doctrine of Res Ipsa Loquitor. What this means in plain language is that the act speaks for itself. When used in a negligence context, it means that injury could not have occurred from anything else but negligence. There are three things that must be proven for this doctrine to apply: that the act does not normally occur without some sort of negligence, that the instrumentality involved was controlled by the defendant, and that the plaintiff had no involvement in the negligent act. Once recent case which dealt with this rather obscure doctrine is the New York state case Crispin v. Hostin. This article will take another look at the
If this child is injured during the birth process or suffers a birth related disability, legal guidance is needed. Medical malpractice involves the complex science of medicine, therefore successful advocacy requires a deep passion for this field and a comprehensive knowledge of both law and medicine to be effective. Gershon, Willoughby and Getz, LLC attorneys believe the best way to effectively advocate for seriously injured victims of malpractice is to attend medical school and fight relentlessly to protect and enforce the rights of the client.