How to Win a Medical Malpractice Case - Law Offices of Steve Newman

Winning a medical malpractice suit is challenging. To increase your chances of winning, you will need sufficient evidence and an experienced medical malpractice attorney.

When seeking medical treatment, you expect your doctor or healthcare provider to take care of you and ensure your health and safety are the top priorities. Should the outcome of your medical treatment cause harm, injury, or death due to medical malpractice or negligence, it is in your and your family’s best interest to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, there are some essential things to know. This article will tell you more about how to win a medical malpractice suit and why hiring an experienced malpractice attorney is necessary.

Ways to Improve Your Chances of Winning a Malpractice Suit

1. You Need to Act Fast

When filing a medical malpractice suit, you must act fast. There is a statute of limitations in many states that will limit the time you can legally file a malpractice suit.

Restrictions will vary based upon the jurisdiction where you reside, the amount of time allowed to victims, and different rules for when the clock for these deadlines will begin. Some states will allow the clock to start once the malpractice-resulting injury or death is discovered, while other states set the deadline starting from the time of the act of malpractice.

It is critical to file your malpractice suit within the time frame allowed and understand the rules and regulations in your jurisdiction to ensure that everything is filed correctly and quickly. An experienced medical malpractice attorney can help you meet all the deadlines.

2. Ensure Your Have Paper Evidence

Evidence is vital in a medical malpractice case; without it, you won’t get very far. The best type of evidence in these cases is generally paper-based evidence, such as medical records.

You first need to hire an attorney for your case and sign any necessary paperwork allowing them to access your medical records. Do your best to gather evidence by requesting a copy of your records as soon as you think you may have a case.

It can take days or even weeks to get medical records into your possession. As soon as your attorney has your documents, they can look at the evidence and call witnesses or medical professionals to support your case. A medical malpractice attorney can tell you if they believe your case is strong or if the evidence is insufficient to justify filing a lawsuit.

3. Understanding Breach of Duty

Filing a medical malpractice suit is only viable if the medical professional fails to live up to their duty of care. Filing a lawsuit isn’t possible just because a procedure didn’t work out as you had hoped or expected.

If you plan to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit to court, you need to understand the concept of negligence. Doctors operate under expectations of reasonable and unreasonable behavior.

A breach of duty requires that a doctor make a mistake considered unreasonable by other medical professionals. An example would be if the doctor uses an unsafe or untested practice without warning a patient or acts carelessly by showing up intoxicated to work.

Identifying a breach of duty is vital if you and your attorney want to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

4. Notify the Insurance Company

Reaching out to the insurance company that represents your healthcare provider and notifying them of a potential malpractice lawsuit will trigger insurance coverage and an internal review of the issue from the company’s side.

For some states, it is legally required for you to notify the insurance company before bringing forth a medical malpractice suit. Often the insurance company will work towards a settlement agreement, and the case will never go to court.

Generally, insurance companies have a team of expert attorneys, so it’s imperative that you hire a medical malpractice attorney to help you. It is best if your attorney has experience with these types of negotiations to help ensure your best interests are protected.

The Law Offices of Steve Newman Is Here to Help

Attorney Steve Newman is a highly experienced attorney licensed to practice law and state and federal courts in New York and New Jersey. Practicing law in medical malpractice, personal injury, construction litigation, and more, Steve Newman incorporates an extensive network of board-certified physicians to help analyze and determine whether medical malpractice has occurred.