A medical professional's duty of care to a patient is simply to provide the reasonable and requisite level of care that is standard in the medical community. That duty begins once the doctor-patient relationship is formed.
A study of more than 1,400 closed medical malpractice claims by the Harvard School of Public Health found that 97 percent were legitimate. About 80 percent of those cases involved either serious injuries or a death, according to the study.
Punitive damages are only awarded in cases in which a jury finds that reckless, even deliberate, conduct has occurred on the part of the defendant. Compensatory damages involve damages that are both financial and non-financial, such as medical bills and emotional damage.
People often ask if they even need an attorney if they’ve been injured in any way. In order to adequately protect your interests, yes, in many cases it will be in your best interests to hire one.
How do you prove to a jury what damages you are entitled to in a wrongful death action? Often, this involves the testimony of economists and other experts. An attorney who specializes in wrongful death claims has connections to experts who have been persuasive in other cases and can testify on your behalf.
What should I expect with my medical malpractice case? Statistics indicate that your case is unlikely to reach a courtroom. However, that’s good news, because studies show that 60 percent of out-of-court cases are won by plaintiffs compared to just 20 percent of court cases.
