Medical Malpractice
As healthcare providers, doctors and other professionals have people’s lives in their hands. When they make serious medical mistakes, it can be devastating for patients and their families. Fortunately, patients can sue for the losses they incur as a result of a health care provider’s negligence. However, medical malpractice claims are complex and expensive to pursue. It takes hours of physician and attorney time, extensive review of medical records, interviews with experts, and research into medical and legal literature to investigate, draft, and file a lawsuit. The entire process often stretches out over years, and the injured plaintiff must fund the costs of court filings, expert fees, and other legal expenses.
A successful medical malpractice claim requires proof of negligence and the resulting injury. Medical negligence is defined as a breach of the standard of care. A standard of care is the way a prudent, reasonable healthcare professional would act in the same or similar circumstances. For example, a radiologist who improperly reads an MRI scan might have breached the standard of care by failing to notice a cancerous tumor or misinterpreting the data.
The injury resulting from the breach of duty must have damaging consequences. This means that the injured patient must show that their condition is worse than it would have been if the doctor had acted appropriately. In addition, the injury must be a reasonably foreseeable result of the negligence.
If the victim dies, family members can also make a wrongful death claim on their behalf. The family can also seek a recovery for their grief, loss of companionship, and other noneconomic damages. The wrongful death of a loved one can have an especially lasting impact on the family, and it is often difficult to put a dollar amount on this type of loss.
It is important to know that a health care provider’s professional liability insurance will aggressively defend malpractice claims against their insureds. These insurers have databases full of malpractice cases that have been filed against their insureds and have access to the verdicts that juries have awarded for similar injuries.
For this reason, it is crucial for an injured person to have a skilled lawyer to help them through the process.
At Sobo & Sobo, our skilled attorneys are ready to assist you with your malpractice case. We have offices in New York City, Middletown, Monticello, and Orange County. Call us today to schedule a free consultation with a medical malpractice lawyer. We can help you sue for medical malpractice and get the compensation that you deserve. We can also help you recover damages for any medical negligence that has caused you harm. We look forward to hearing from you.