When a patient files a medical malpractice lawsuit, they aim to prove that they have been harmed as a direct result of a medical professional’s negligence. These cases require you to act fast when filing a suit—even notify the accused beforehand in some states—and usually, a medical expert will need to testify on your behalf to substantiate your claim. To ultimately win, though, you must prove the four following criteria in court. 

How to Prove Medical Malpractice

1. The Doctor Had a Duty of Care to the Patient

Establishing that there was a doctor-patient relationship present is the cornerstone of a medical malpractice case. If you can’t prove that you hired this doctor for the issue in question and the doctor agreed to be hired, then they can’t be held liable. This evidence is easily shown if a doctor actively treated you, but problems arise if a consulting physician didn’t provide care directly. These complications occur, for example, in cases where a doctor failed to properly diagnose a patient, and as a result, they died by not receiving the correct treatment.

2. The Doctor Showed Negligence

There are certain standards of care that doctors are held to that you need to prove weren’t met. Your case needs to establish that the harm your doctor caused would not have occurred under the care of any other competent doctor under similar circumstances. That doesn’t mean a doctor’s procedure must be perfect, but they have to show a reasonably skillful and careful level of care. A plaintiff in medical malpractice cases will often bring in a medical expert to show how the defendant veered from this standard. 

3. The Doctor’s Negligence Directly Caused the Patient’s Injury

It’s difficult to prove direct causation in medical malpractice cases because oftentimes the patient is already sick, hence the doctor’s involvement. There must be clear proof that the doctor’s negligence directly caused the injury in question. A complicated case could include a person with cancer dying after treatment administered by the doctor. The patient could have died directly due to the doctor’s negligence, or they could have simply died from their cancer. The medical malpractice attorney’s job is to show that it was more likely than not that the patient died directly due to the doctor’s incompetence when they would have had a prolonged life under the care of a different physician. 

4. The Injury Led to Specific Damages

If a doctor’s negligence didn’t do any harm, a patient can’t sue for medical malpractice, since the point of the case is to recover the damages you underwent as the result of some injury. These damages can include physical or mental pain, medical bills in addition to the instance in question, and lost earnings from not working due to the injury. Families that have also lost a loved one due to negligence can also recover damages if this proof is shown. 

To prove these points of medical malpractice, seasoned lawyers on your side at Neimark & Neimark will help you build the strongest case possible. Their firm has over 40 years of experience in personal injury law and has helped clients in the Orange and Rockland County, NY, areas recover millions in damages. For attorneys that will fight for the outcome you deserve, call their office at (888) 725-7424, and visit their website for more information about their areas of practice.