If your lawyer made a big mistake, you might have a legal malpractice case. Are you unhappy with your lawyer’s services or how your lawyer has handled your case? If so, you might be considering filing a lawsuit for legal malpractice.
But a parent can act as the personal representative of the minor child and bring those claims on the child’s behalf. This means the parent would be acting as the “next friend” of the child. That is why you see personal injury lawsuits involving minor children styled like this: “John Doe, Individually, and as Next Friend of Jane Doe, a minor….”
Lawyers often take legal malpractice cases on a contingency fee basis—which means they take a percentage of your award or settlement rather than charge you by the hour. Because they don’t get paid if you lose, lawyers will carefully evaluate your case and consider whether it’s worth risking the time and emergency to take the matter to trial.
If the minor is not named on a parent's insurance policy, or if the car the minor is driving is owned by a parent, the parent is liable, which means that you can collect from the parent's insurance company.
Technically you can be sued for anything at any time, but in most cases can succeed on a motion to dismiss because the statute of limitations for most claims is less than ten years.
The injured patient must show that the physician acted negligently in rendering care, and that such negligence resulted in injury. To do so, four legal elements must be proven: (1) a professional duty owed to the patient; (2) breach of such duty; (3) injury caused by the breach; and (4) resulting damages.
Evidence of a doctor-patient relationship – This is probably the easiest thing to prove in a medical malpractice case. You simply have to show that a medical professional agreed to treat you or diagnose your illness or that this person actually provided treatment.
The basis for most medical malpractice claims involves four elements: duty, breach, injury, and damages.
In order to successfully pursue a medical malpractice suit, the patient must prove the four (4) elements of medical negligence. The four (4) elements are (1) duty; (2) breach; (3) injury; and (4) proximate causation.
Essentials of medical negligenceThe defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff.The defendant made a breach of that duty.The plaintiff suffered damage as a consequence of that breach.
Examples of negligence include:A driver who runs a stop sign causing an injury crash.A store owner who fails to put up a “Caution: Wet Floor” sign after mopping up a spill.A property owner who fails to replace rotten steps on a wooden porch that collapses and injures visiting guests.
When a medical provider's actions or inactions fail to meet the medical standard of care, their behavior constitutes medical negligence. If their medical negligence causes their patient to suffer an injury, it becomes medical malpractice.
Examples of Medical Malpractice Misreading or ignoring laboratory results. Unnecessary surgery. Surgical errors or wrong site surgery. Improper medication or dosage.
Failing to evaluate a patient's medical history to identify possible complications. Failing to tell the patient critical preoperative instructions, such as not eating or drinking before the procedure. Administering too much anesthesia. Improperly placing the breathing tube.
The key defense against a malpractice suit is to show that the standards of care were followed. Clear, precise documentation is vital in proving such.
Who is most likely to give factual testimony in a trial? An expert who knows ow certain medical treatments should be performed.