An article describing what steps to take in medical malpractice court cases.
The patient may not suspect that a medical practitioner has done something wrong till a long time after he has been treated; this period may be of months or years. To file a legal suit there is fixed period of time allowed known as the limitation period. Outside the limitation period law suits are considered null and void and patient looses his right to recover any damages or claims.
Time is the essence and the affected patient must file a lawsuit against the medical practitioner responsible for medical malpractice within the limitation period only. Some time must have passed in between since the patient has seen the medical practitioner and when he noticed something wrong happened to him, not wasting the time further the patient should immediately contact the lawyer to avoid any chance of missing the limitation date.
The patient must seek the second opinion from a specialist under the guidance of a good medical malpractice lawyer to clearly establish the happening of medical malpractice beyond any doubts. Now the lawyer can proceed to review the medical findings and check if there is any case worth pursuing. The lawyer then assesses the quantum of damages suffered by the patient, and calculates the winning chances based upon recent court decisions.
All licensed doctors in US/ Canada/ Europe are required to carry malpractice insurance through the respective medical agencies concerned. if a court finds the doctor liable for the medical malpractice, then task of such agencies is to pay out the least amount to settle the claim.
After beginning of the lawsuits both parties are examined by the lawyers of the opposite side, under oath. The patient’s lawyer will try to get evidence from the medical practitioners that they did not follow proper procedures, and their lawyers will try to get evidence from the patient that he did not suffered any damages. Each party to the case will have to give the other side all documents relevant to the medical malpractice case. This usually includes the medical records, notations, expert witness reports, as well as the income tax returns of patient, financial statements, and other evidence of lost income.
The lawyer will review the options for setting the trial date. The date of trial is set in such a way that all of the symptoms are clearly visible and the court may award you a satisfactory amount of damages. Till this moment if the patient cannot come to a negotiated settlement, then the case goes to the court.
Then the court hear evidence to determine whether medical practitioners were at fault, and also the amount of damages suffered by the patient. The lawyer of the patient may call other doctors as expert witnesses, and also present evidence as to the lost present income and future income of the patient. At the end of the trial, the judge decides if the medical practitioners were at fault, and if so, how much damages the patient has suffered. If either side is not satisfied with the decision at trial, then he or she can appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal. There, other judges will review the decision, based upon the facts previously established.
Important Steps in a Medical Malpractice Case is a Medical Malpractice related article from Medical Malpractice Cases website.
