Once a medical malpractice case is accepted for litigation, it is filed, meaning that the summons complaint and certificate of merit are filed in the county in which the lawsuit would be held. If the lawsuit is based in Albany County, these documents are electronically filed with the Albany County Supreme Court clerk.

Once the lawsuit is filed, the documents are served upon the defendant. They are hand-delivered to the defendants. The defendants respond with a document called an answer. The answer generally denies the allegations of the complaint, and this begins the paper process called discovery demands and discovery responses, in which each side serves written documents requesting information about the other side’s injuries, the claims, and other detailed information.

To learn more about the Hudson Valley medical malpractice case process, reach out to a seasoned medical malpractice lawyer.

Depositions

After discovery process is completed, the parties have depositions in which an individual is examined under oath and swears to tell the truth in an attorney’s conference room. The deposition is a vital part of the Hudson Valley medical malpractice case process. The attorney will be present with the injured individual at all times during the deposition. The defense attorney will then proceed to ask questions of the injured victim regarding the lawsuit. Once all the depositions are completed, the attorney will ask for a trial date to be scheduled by the court.

Unique Aspects of Hudson Valley Medical Malpractice Claims

In the Hudson Valley between north of New York City and the Capital District of Albany, there are smaller community hospitals. Kingston Hospital, Columbia Memorial Hospital, Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital, and Saint Luke’s Cornwall Hospital are among them. Generally, these local community hospitals do not provide higher-quality specialists. For example, if someone had a complicated pregnancy and wanted to find a specialist in high-risk pregnancy, these local community hospitals would not be the place to go as a birth injury could be more likely.

Instead, that person would want to go to a hospital in Albany such as Saint Peter’s Hospital or Albany Medical Center, or they would want to go to Westchester County or New York City. This is because at those hospitals they can find high-risk pregnancy specialists who can treat them.

How University Hospitals May Increase the Occurrence of Medical Malpractice

Unfortunately, university hospitals can be more prone to medical malpractice than other hospitals. University hospitals or teaching hospitals will have young students and residents providing much of the care, so the interaction that the patients will have will be with non-physicians. It might be a second-year resident or a third-year resident, but the attending physician who is responsible for the patient oftentimes is not actually providing the care. In fact, during operations, even though the attending physician might have their name on the operative report, it is a resident who actually performs some, if not all, of the operation. That is the downside of a teaching or university hospital. Much of the care is not provided by the attending physician but is provided by a medical resident with very little experience with the type of medical condition that the patient has.

How an Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorney Could Help

A person who believes they have grounds for a medical malpractice case deserves answers and a seasoned lawyer could assist. A dedicated attorney could help the injured person with the Hudson Valley medical malpractice case process by investigating the claim and ensuring that they take the necessary steps to have a successful claim. The biggest mistake that an injured person can make is not seeking an experienced medical malpractice lawyer.