What are the Fundamental Concepts in a Medical Malpractice Case?

Medical malpractice cases are the same as any personal injury lawsuit. Basically this means that if you have sustained injuries due to medical malpractice by a doctor, nurse, or anyone else because of some sort of hospital neglect you can sue the concerned parties and claim compensation. However, proving liability is difficult in medical malpractice cases than general personal injury lawsuits and Charleston, SC medical malpractice lawyers such as DeLuca & Maucher, LLP would even testify to this.

Here are some legal elements which plaintiffs are required to prove:

• Duty

The basis of medical malpractice suits is proving the defendant’s negligence. In order to so the medical malpractice legal professional will have to prove that the plaintiff and the doctor had a doctor-patient relationship and due to this relationship the doctor had a duty of care towards the patient. Here the term ‘duty’ legally means that the physician was expected to provide the patient a certain level of care.

The ‘level of care’ means that the physician should have provided a standard of care that any other doctor with the expertise and background would have provided under similar circumstances. For the most part, the plaintiff will have to find an equally qualified doctor to testify that the defendant failed to live up to the standard of care and therefore there was a breach of duty and your Charleston, SC medical malpractice attorneys will work hard to prove this is so and the best in the business is DeLuca & Maucher, LLP.

• Breach of Duty

When a physician failed to adhere to the standard of care a breach of duty happened. To establish a breach of duty an affidavit by a qualified physician stating that patient was harmed due to lack of certain level of care is essential.

However, there are a few other cases where the merit of the case does not depend on any sworn statement. For instance, if a practitioner conducts a surgery where the wrong leg gets amputated or an instrument is left inside the body. The negligence is therefore obvious and an expert statement is not required. This has happened! This is where a bunch of people in the chain of command look ridiculous.

Speaking of when a chain of command looks foolish. Have you see The Wire! When the Baltimore police force realizes that Marlow and his crew have been killing people in the city and hiding their bodies in abandoned homes – that entire police chain of command looked ludicrous and comical. This was not hospital neglect, this was law enforcement neglect!

• Causation

The plaintiff’s, your, Charleston, South Carolina medical malpractice lawyers and the best in this part of the state is DeLuca & Maucher, LLP based on their work ethic and knowledge of the law will have to prove that the breach of duty was the direct cause of the injury. The connection between breach of duty and injury is easy to establish in cases where negligence is obvious. For instance, a surgeon amputates the left leg when it was the right leg that needed the surgery. In this case the plaintiff’s legal representative can easily link the proximate cause with the injury.

• Damages

If it is established that the doctor caused the injury he/she is liable to pay compensation for the damages caused, which can be physical, psychological, and economical. In some cases the damages become evident soon enough such as in the case of the wrong amputation scenario while in some others injuries may take time to manifest. Proving physical damages in such cases becomes difficult.

A victim of medical malpractice is entitled to receive compensation for economic as well as non-economic damages. Loss of income, medical bills, and permanent disability are considered economic damages while pain and suffering are non-economic damages. If the nature of injury is severe then the physician may have to pay punitive damages as well.

If you or a loved one has suffered due to medical malpractice or hospital neglect, there are many ways a medical malpractice lawyer in eastern central South Carolina can help and you do not have to look far to find a high caliber law firm, just call up DeLuca & Maucher, LLP since they have won thousands and thousands of dollars for past clients and know what a winning case looks like. Legal professionals such as this law firm will have a network of medical experts (or perhaps just a couple) who can review your records and evaluate your case so that they can use their knowledge and experience to help you put together a strong claim.

If you want some of the best medical malpractice legal talent in the industry you need to call DeLuca & Maucher, LLP. You can see and find them right here: www.delucamaucher.com/. The first meeting is free. They are not paid until you are paid. They only take a percentage from the final settlement or verdict. Give them a call – let them hear your side of the story!