Medical Malpractice Expert

Malpractice is something we usually think about when we think about medical care. However, of course, when taking at a closer look, dental care is also medical care of its own type. And like medical professionals, dental professionals, too, must be vigilant that they provide proper care within the proper parameters and procedures for their patients. If they don’t, a patient can file a lawsuit against them alleging that they were harmed because of this negligence.

With this type of occurrence, the first course of action is to discuss the problem with the dentist you had the treatment done with and see if resolution can be achieved that way. If not, the next thing to do to complain to the dental society within your area and see if that resolves the difficulty. State or local dental societies work very hard to ensure that their professionals meet a particular standard of care, so often this will get you the results you think you deserve. You can also complain to the state licensing board.

If the damage that occurred is permanent or cannot be rectified and is as a result of negligence, and if complaining to the state licensing board or the dental society does not get you the outcome you think you deserve, your next step should be to consult an attorney who specializes in malpractice, specifically dental malpractice if possible. In addition, because the clock is ticking for these types of cases and you only have a certain amount of time to file a claim, depending on your state, you should consult an attorney as soon as you realize these other venues of resolution are not going to work.

Keep in mind that for dental malpractice to occur, you as the patient must feel that “quantifiable” damages have occurred as a result of the dentist’s negligence. In addition, as stated previously, you have to work fast if you get to this stage because your particular statute of limitations may be very short, as little as one year after the treatment that caused the injury occurred. As stated previously, it’s best to consult an attorney that’s not just versed in malpractice, but dental malpractice.

One of your best courses of action during all of the work you do is to keep a very detailed log in a notebook. Be sure to state who you talked with, on what date and time, what was discussed and the action items left as a result of that call. Having such detailed records can sometimes mean the difference between winning your case and having it thrown out, if your dental malpractice suit gets into a courtroom.

If the attorney reviews your claim and thinks that you have a valid case, it may proceed to the next level. In most cases, damages for a dental malpractice case are relatively small when compared to those of medical malpractice, for example. Therefore, most attorneys will advise that you settle out of court to save the cost of a trial. In some cases, though, negligence and the resulting harm is substantial within a particular case of dental malpractice; if this is so, the case can indeed go to trial.

Medical malpractice suits are becoming an increasingly common occurrence these days. When a doctor or other health care provider does not do something within the accepted standards of practice for the community, and that negligence causes injury to the patient, that doctor or health care professional can be sued.

In these cases, the plaintiff is the patient that was harmed, and the defendant is the health care professional and sometimes the medical organization involved in a particular incident.

In most cases, medical malpractice is caused by negligence, omission, mistake, et cetera. In other words, although preventable, most malpractice suits are brought because some occurrence accidentally did not happen that should have or vice versa. In some cases, however, what appears to be medical malpractice is actually a deliberate act of either murder or injury. For example, there have been several cases in which health care providers were convicted of murder only after the fact because so many patients died on their watch that officials became suspicious.

For a plaintiff to establish that medical malpractice has occurred, the following elements must be present:

* The oversight, carelessness, negligence, etc., must have caused injury.

* A specific duty must have been overlooked, such as that the provider didn’t conform to the established standard of care. The standard of care itself is proved by expert testimony or by obvious errors that absolutely show an adequate job was not done.

* The health care provider had a duty to provide the medical care, etc., that it did not and was legally obligated to.

* The damage or loss must be specified and quantified. The damage can be emotional, physical, or both, but without damage established, there’s no basis for a claim even if the medical provider was indeed negligent.

In most cases, medical malpractice, once established, moves on to the next phase of the legal system. In this case, the plaintiff’s attorney or the plaintiff himself or herself files a lawsuit in a court within the appropriate jurisdiction. Thereafter, a trial is set to occur. During the process between the filing of the suit and the onset of the trial, both parties (plaintiff and defendant) share information (usually via their attorneys) in a process that is known as discovery. During this phase of development, depositions, requests for documents, and interrogatories may be performed. If a settlement is offered and both parties agree to it, the case may settle and not go to trial. If this does not happen, however, the case is brought to trial.

In a medical malpractice lawsuit, the plaintiff (the party saying that he or she has been injured) is the one with the burden of proof. In this case, the burden of proof has to be by a preponderance or majority of evidence, specifically 51%. If the case goes to trial, both parties present evidence and experts to support their particular claim of guilt or innocence. After the trial ends, the factfinder (jury or judge) is left to deliberate and weigh all of the evidence. At that point, the factfinder decides which side is most credible and renders a verdict.

Once the verdict is rendered, the defendant is found to be guilty or not guilty. If found guilty, the medical malpractice moves to being part of the record and compensatory and punitive damages are awarded to the plaintiff as rendered applicable by the factfinder. If found not guilty, the defendant is absolved of all wrongdoing. In some cases, the losing party on either side may move to have a new trial. The plaintiff can also ask to have an exceptionally small award be increased, while the defendant can also ask to have an exceptionally large award be reduced, in some jurisdictions. In addition, either side may move to appeal the judgment.

One of the things currently fueling medical malpractice suits is the “cheapness” being dictated by many health insurance providers. Many times a patient will not receive specific treatment because it is not authorized by their health insurance provider, or there is a long delay in getting that approval, where the end result for the patient causes them pain, severe illness, and can even be fatal.

Although medical malpractice laws are meant to protect patients, many parties have begun to feel that in fact, health-care providers are unfairly targeted for malpractice. This is in part because there are some plaintiffs who falsely file claims in hopes that they’ll receive a large monetary award if they win, not because any negligence has actually occurred. Therefore, in some cases, award amounts may be limited depending on the jurisdiction. It is important for all parties to remember is that if medical malpractice is to work as it should, only medical personnel who are truly guilty of malpractice should be targeted for it, and not simply because a plaintiff hopes to receive an exceptional monetary award.

It should also be noted that fraudulent claims of malpractice are damaging in and of themselves. They damage the medical community, and they damage the legal system because they tie up resources that could better be used elsewhere. They also artificially inflate premium amounts for malpractice insurance, which is another detriment to the medical community.