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Medical Malpractice attorney Lawsuits

Attorneys have a fiduciary connection with their clients and are expected to behave with diligence, care and ability. However, like all professionals attorneys make mistakes.

Some mistakes made by attorneys are a result of malpractice attorneys. To prove legal negligence the person who was hurt must prove the breach of duty, obligation, causation, and damage. Let's look at each of these components.

Duty-Free

Doctors and medical professionals take an oath to apply their skill and training to treat patients, not to cause further harm. The duty of care is the foundation for patients' right to compensation for injuries caused by medical negligence. Your attorney will determine if the actions of your doctor violated the duty to care and if these breaches caused you injury or illness.

Your lawyer has to prove that the medical professional was bound by an obligation of fiduciary to act with reasonable skill and care. This can be demonstrated by eyewitness testimony, physician-patient reports and expert testimony from doctors who have similar educational, experience and training.

Your lawyer will also have to prove that the medical professional breached their duty of care by not living up to the accepted standards of practice in their field. This is usually called negligence. Your lawyer will be able to compare what the defendant did with what a reasonable person would do in a similar situation.

Your lawyer must also show that the defendant's breach directly contributed to your injury or loss. This is called causation. Your lawyer will make use of evidence including your doctor's or patient reports, witness testimony and expert testimony, to demonstrate that the defendant's failure to meet the standard of care was the direct cause of injury or loss to you.

Breach

A doctor has a responsibility of care to his patients that conforms to the highest standards of medical practice. If a doctor fails to meet those standards and that failure causes injury, then medical malpractice and negligence could occur. Expert testimony from medical professionals who have the same training, certifications, skills and experience can help determine the standard of care in a particular situation. State and federal laws, along with institute policies, define what doctors are required to do for certain types of patients.

To prevail in a malpractice lawsuit the case must be proved that the doctor violated his or their duty of care, and that the breach was the direct cause of injury. This is referred to in legal terms as the causation element, and it is vital to establish. For example in the event that a damaged arm requires an x-ray the doctor has to properly set the arm and place it in a cast for proper healing. If the doctor failed to complete the procedure and the patient was left with permanent loss of the use of the arm, then malpractice could have occurred.

Causation

Legal malpractice claims are based on evidence that the attorney made mistakes that caused financial losses to the client. For instance the lawyer fails to file a lawsuit within the prescribed time of limitations, resulting in the case being lost for ever and the victim may bring legal malpractice claims.

It is important to recognize that not all errors made by attorneys constitute illegal. Planning and strategy errors do not usually constitute malpractice. Attorneys have a wide range of discretion in making decisions as long as they're rational.

The law also gives attorneys an enormous amount of discretion to not conduct discovery for a client provided that the reason for the delay was not unreasonable or negligence. Failing to discover important information or documents, such as medical or witness statements can be a case of legal malpractice. Other examples of malpractice are a failure to add certain defendants or claims such as omitting to file a survival count in a case of wrongful death, or the repeated and extended failure to communicate with the client.

It is also important to keep in mind the fact that the plaintiff has to prove that if not due to the lawyer's negligent behavior they could have won their case. If not, the plaintiff's claims for malpractice will be denied. This requirement makes it difficult to file an action for legal malpractice. It is essential to choose an experienced attorney.

Damages

To prevail in a legal malpractice lawsuit, the plaintiff must show actual financial losses that result from the actions of an attorney. This can be proven in a lawsuit by utilizing evidence such as expert testimony, correspondence between the client and attorney along with billing records and other evidence. A plaintiff must also demonstrate that a reasonable attorney would have prevented the damage caused by the negligence of the lawyer. This is known as the proximate cause.

It can happen in many different ways. The most frequent malpractices include: failing the deadline or statute of limitations; failing to perform the necessary conflict checks on cases; applying law incorrectly to a client's specific circumstances; and violating the fiduciary obligation (i.e. the commingling of funds from a trust account an attorney's own accounts or handling a case in a wrong manner, and not communicating with the client are just a few examples of misconduct.

In most medical malpractice cases the plaintiff will seek compensatory damages. These compensate the victim for out-of-pocket expenses and losses, like hospital and medical bills, costs of equipment needed to aid in recovering, and lost wages. In addition, the victims can be able to claim non-economic damages such as suffering and suffering or loss of enjoyment life and emotional distress.

Legal malpractice cases typically involve claims for compensatory as well as punitive damages. The first is meant to compensate the victim for the damages due to the negligence of the attorney and the latter is intended to discourage any future malpractice on the defendant's part.