Medical malpractice cases are generally sought by patients who have been harmed due to poor medical treatment from a medical practitioner. It is one of the most complex kinds of personal injury law. Believe it or not, medical negligence is the third leading cause of death in the United States!

Some Important Facts:

Legal Definition

Medical malpractice is any act committed by a physician or other healthcare provider during treatment which causes injury or damages.

How do you determine if someone is the victim of medical negligence?

There are several ways to tell whether you or someone you know may have been a victim of medical malpractice.

• Sustaining injuries – A malpractice claim exists if a medical provider’s negligence causes injury or damages to a patient.
• Sometimes your medical provider may inform you that they, themselves, have made a mistake. Typically, in that case, it’s in the hopes of preventing additional claims or to pursue the opportunity to settle out-of-court.
• If a current medical provider informs you that you received negligent medical care from a previous health-care provider.

What should you do if you suspect that you’ve been subjected to negligent care?
If you believe that you or someone you know has been injured because of a medical error, contacting a seasoned malpractice attorney should be the first step. Always consult a best personal injury attorney with a vast amount of experience with medical malpractice cases, as they will likely have a higher rate of success. It is possible to know whether you have a case only after the medical records have been reviewed and experts have been consulted.
After a thorough review, your attorney will be able to determine whether or not your case is actionable.

Who decides if a practitioner committed malpractice?
Eventually, a jury or a judge decides whether a doctor committed malpractice. The judge or jury will hear testimony from the victim (if capable of testifying), the defendant, various witnesses who know something about the case, and expert witnesses.

How Long You Have to File a Claim
It is important to find out how much time you have to legally bring the claim while deciding whether to file a medical malpractice claim. A statute of limitations is the deadline or time limit for which you must file a lawsuit for all civil claims. To ensure the time period for filing a claim doesn’t run out, always check the state laws in your particular state.