(845) 802-0047When a patient undergoes any type of medical treatment, they often expect their doctor, nurse, or surgeon to act in a safe manner. When a medical provider acts negligently the results could be catastrophic. Medical negligence may cause patients severe injuries and force them to face an array of hardships. In addition to the serious physical ailments that may be caused by a health care provider’s negligence, patients may also face a number of serious financial hardships. A skilled Troy medical malpractice lawyer could review your claim and determine whether you have a valid case.
Schedule an appointment with a knowledgeable attorney who could help find effective legal strategies for your case. Compensation could significantly help an injured person address financial concerns as they attempt to recover from unexpected complications.
What Are the Legal Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case?
Medical malpractice is generally defined as a health care professional’s deviation from the accepted standard of care. While medical errors may result in injury and indicate careless behavior on the part of the healthcare provider, it may not necessarily serve as justification for a lawsuit. In order to have grounds for a medical malpractice case, injured plaintiffs typically must prove numerous critical elements in court.
Duty of Care
For a medical malpractice lawsuit filed against them to be valid, a medical professional generally must have owed a duty of care to their patient. In the context of medicine, a duty of care is often a legal obligation that a medical professional may need adhere to when caring for a patient.
Breach of Duty
Next, the medical professional typically must have breached their duty of care. A health care professional has breached their duty of care when their treatment fails to meet the accepted standard of other healthcare providers in the same field.
Proximate Cause
Following that, the medical professional’s breach of duty generally must have directly caused the patient’s injury. For example, if a physician does not thoroughly review their patient’s medical history and the patient subsequently suffers a severe allergic reaction to a medication, they may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Damages
Finally, the health care provider’s negligence generally must have caused the patient to suffer some form of physical harm. If the negligence of a health care professional causes some type of financial loss, the injured person and their Troy medical malpractice attorney could seek economic damages. Non-economic damages, on the other hand, include pain and suffering, mental anguish, and other damages that do not typically have an objective value.
Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice Claims
Like many states, New York State generally has a statute of limitations—or deadline—to file a medical malpractice case. According to New York Civil Practice Law & Rules §214-a, if a person suffers an injury as a result of a health care provider’s negligence, they typically have two and a half years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit in court.
If the medical malpractice occurred as part of a continuing course of treatment, the statute’s “clock” often does not start running until the patient’s treatment has concluded. In the same vein, for cases that involve a foreign object being left in the patient’s body, a lawsuit typically must be filed within one year of the date of the patient discovering the object.
Often, cases that are filed after the statute of limitations deadline may be dismissed by the judge, thus taking away the injured plaintiff’s ability to pursue compensation. A medical malpractice attorney in Troy could help a potential plaintiff ensure they file their case well in advance of this deadline.
Contact an Experienced Troy Medical Malpractice Attorney
If you suspect that your doctor, surgeon, or other health care professional treated you below the standard that would be expected of someone in their professional position, and you were injured as a result, you may be in a position to pursue financial compensation.
A seasoned Troy medical malpractice lawyer with extensive legal knowledge regarding malpractice cases in New York could aggressively fight to pursue the compensation to which you may be entitled. To learn more, call and arrange an appointment with a dedicated injury attorney.