Medical malpractice is a difficult area of the law to litigate due to the subjectivity of a medical caregiver’s actions. Even if a doctor or surgeon does everything right, something bad can still happen to a patient. That is why determining liability in Manchester medical malpractice cases is so critical. You will need a steadfast malpractice attorney to help you construct a claim and make a case for compensation if you were injured or misdiagnosed.
How Easy is it to Assign Liability for Malpractice?
Liability in medical malpractice cases is often contested, meaning that the doctor or the hospital usually do not admit that they have made a mistake. This means the parties need to bring in experts to render opinions on medical negligence.
If the hospital in question trains university students, it could be that an inexperienced resident played a part in the negligence, which might not have happened if it was conducted by a long-time experienced physician or surgeon. This might add an additional layer of complication to the liability question in local malpractice cases.
Case Process
The case process for medical malpractice involves a lawyer listening to a patient, getting the right information that they need such as the health history or the names of the providers, acquiring the signed healthcare authorizations, and then acquiring and reviewing the medical records. It is then incumbent on them to find a medical expert (usually a current or former doctor) to analyze the case and form a medical opinion on what happened and who was liable. If they believe liability can be established, the attorney and plaintiff could file a lawsuit, which can be litigated or settled through an agreement.
Complicating Liability
Medical procedures are inherently complicated with many variables but patients have the right to due doctors if they committed malpractice. It requires an expert, usually a doctor who is similarly credentialed, to give their professional opinion that the defendant was negligent. If a patient is not honest in disclosing what their health situation is – such as failing to mention serious medical conditions that might affect how a surgery is handled – that can be a complicating factor in medical negligence.
A consent form helps establish the scope of the procedure and what is going to be done, but it does not mean that the patient waives away the right to sue for negligence. They can consent to the risks inherent with the surgery but they cannot consent to the surgery being conducted improperly. If someone tries to sue for a side-effect that was properly explained in the consent form, it is likely that the caregiver does not hold liability for a Manchester medical malpractice case.
What Are Some Misconceptions About Malpractice Liability?
The biggest misconception that people have is that malpractice cases are somehow easy. They hear a lot about suing doctors and premiums going up. The truth is that it is incredibly hard to sue a doctor or hospital. The barriers are high and even cases where there have been some wrongdoings are difficult to bring because the hospitals make them so costly to litigate. Because a number of procedures also involve some level of risk, it can also be difficult to definitively prove whether a negative outcome was negligence or just bad luck.
In misdiagnosis cases where there are medical records of the patients, the records could reveal, through imaging or bloodwork, that something should have been investigated based on the symptoms that the patient presented to the doctor. That is why records are one of the key factors in helping determine liability.
Speak to an Attorney About Liability in Manchester Medical Malpractice Claims
The most important piece of a personal injury lawsuit is determining liability. A lawyer’s goal is to properly establish that a specific caregiver holds liability in a Manchester medical malpractice case through the use of medical records and expert or witness testimony. For more on how you could seek justice after a medical incident, call today.