Initial evaluation of medical malpractice claims includes an in-depth review and analysis of the medical records, imaging and other documentation in order to determine the following: Exactly when and where the breach in the standard of care occurred The amount of time it took the provider (s) to identify the act (s) of negligence
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Dec 31, 2008 ¡ Gather the records necessary for review. Just learning what the client remembers isn't enough--a lawyer has to actually gather a client's medical records to evaluate his/her case. This usually means the entire chart, not just the part that seems to the client to be relevant.
Medical malpractice claims require several complex steps â from reviewing the medical records to determine the merit of the claim to finding the right experts who can verify that the doctor failed to act within the applicable standard of care. The first and âŚ
The evaluation of a medical malpractice case begins with a telephone call. As the facts of the potential case are described by our new client, there are three thoughts running through my mind: (#1) what was the date of the malpractice and has the statute of limitations expired?; (2) what is the deviation from the standard of care by the doctor?;
Mar 17, 2022 ¡ Medical records are the most important documents for beginning a medical malpractice case. Records both of the negligent care at issue as well as treatment after the fact are usually required to evaluate a potential case. Although some medical records and general literature are given to patients at discharge, to obtain your actual medical records you must âŚ
Your medical record is the most important piece of evidence you can use to support your claim. It shows your original condition, the treatment you received, and your condition after receiving treatment. This is one specific piece of evidence that should be part of every medical malpractice claim.Jan 5, 2017
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.
A medical malpractice claim requires the plaintiff to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, four elements: 1) that the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff 2) that the defendant deviated from the applicable standard of care 3) the plaintiff suffered damages4) the damages were directly caused by the ...Aug 27, 2021
Simply because a health care professional or facility makes a mistake, that does not mean medical malpractice has occurred. In order to amount to malpractice, medical treatment has to fall below an accepted medical standard of care, and the sub-standard treatment must result in harm to you, the patient.
In order to establish negligence, you must be able to prove four âelementsâ: a duty, a breach of that duty, causation and damages.Apr 30, 2019
Start by practicing good risk management, building on the old adage of four Cs: compassion, communication, competence and charting.Sep 30, 2015
To be successful, any medical negligence claim must demonstrate that four specific elements exist. These elements, the â4 Dsâ of medical negligence, are (1) duty, (2) deviation from the standard of care, (3) damages, and (4) direct cause.Dec 21, 2020
Medical negligence is substandard care that's been provided by a medical professional to a patient, which has directly caused injury or caused an existing condition to get worse. There's a number of ways that medical negligence can happen such as misdiagnosis, incorrect treatment or surgical mistakes.
A standard of care can also refer to informal or formal guidelines that are generally accepted in the medical community for the treatment of a disease or condition. 2 It may be developed by a specialist society or organization and the title of standard of care awarded at their own discretion.Mar 4, 2020
The basis for most medical malpractice claims involves four elements: duty, breach, injury, and damages.
Breach of duty occurs when a person's conduct fails to meet an applicable standard of care. It is one of the four elements of negligence. If the defendant's conduct fails to meet the required standard of care, they are said to have breached that duty.
the thing speaks for itselfLatin for "the thing speaks for itself."
Difficult and hard-fought, the complexity of medical malpractice cases requires the right lawyer with the expertise necessary to review and, if necessary, take your case to trial. That expertise comes from experience in the courtroom.
When you first consult with an attorney, you will explain what you believe went wrong and why. The lawyer will ask you a lot of questions, such as information about prior health conditions, the course of treatment, and follow-up medical care.
Why is it important to consult with a medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible? Because the time to file a civil lawsuit against a doctor, hospital or medical staff member is limited to two years from the date when the alleged injury took place. This is what is known as the statute of limitations.
If your lawyer considers your case a viable one, your account of the incident and the injury is not enough to pursue the matter. All of the records and other documentary evidence must be obtained and reviewed in detail to be sure that the case is a solid one.
A medical expert must also review your case to determine whether the defendant doctor, hospital or medical staff member made an error so significant that it went beyond the medically accepted standard of care, and that the error was a proximate cause of the injury or death.
You do not incur any expense for legal fees or disbursements unless your medical malpractice case results in a jury verdict or a settlement. This is important because medical malpractice claims are expensive to pursue.
Now that you know what goes on when an attorney evaluates and accepts a medical malpractice case, here is why Giroux Trial Attorneys should represent you for your medical malpractice claim:
When starting a medical malpractice case, the injured patient should provide their attorney evidence both of what their injuries are and of how they were injured. If gathering documents on your own is unfeasible, a qualified medical malpractice attorney can help you obtain the necessary documents.
Medical records are the most important documents for beginning a medical malpractice case. Records both of the negligent care at issue as well as treatment after the fact are usually required to evaluate a potential case. Although some medical records and general literature are given to patients at discharge, to obtain your actual medical records ...
Photographs of the patient both before and after the injury or death help personalize the case and establish the human toll caused by negligence. Providing a glimpse of the personal life of the injured patient, and their friends and family, is always helpful in a medical malpractice case.
After suffering injury from medical malpractice, many patients find themselves unable to continue working their former job, or may become unemployable entirely. Damages are available for lost income or lost earning capacity, but documentary evidence is key. Pay stubs and tax returns establishing your previous income should be copied and provided to your attorney.
Your medical bills are a key part of proving your medical expenses, both past and future, and they should be provided to your attorney when you begin your case and subsequently if you continue receiving them.
Furthermore, health insurers and government programs like Medicare or Medicaid may be entitled to subrogation, i.e., repayment of medical bills they paid for your treatment. All such correspondence should be provided to your attorney.
Communications about your case or the underlying medical issues may not come directly from your doctor, but could come from their insurer. If you have received any correspondence from your doctorâs liability or malpractice insurerâor from your own health insurerâyou should provide it to your attorney.
Proper case selection is the first and most critical step in the successful pursuit of a medical malpractice, nursing home, or personal injury claim. Let our physicians in the United States perform a flat fee medical malpractice case review to identify and distinguish medical malpractice from mal-occurrence.
We refer Board-certified medical malpractice expert witnesses from some of the best institutions and private practices in the country. Pre-screened and highly qualified, our nationwide network of medical experts are actively practicing and not âhired gunsâ.
Have you always wanted a full-time in-house Physician on your staff but thought it cost-prohibitive?
By performing a flat fee physician medical review, screen the relevant literature, and interpreting key events chronologically, MedMal will assist in âbottom lineâ analysis of the value of any given medical malpractice case.
Unlike testifying medical expert witnesses, MedMal is available to personally meet and perform a physician medical review with attorneys to review the records, teach them the relevant literature and medicine, and assist in preparing and anticipating the potential arguments and strategy that the opposition may present.
Put a doctor on YOUR side of the table. We are available for attendance at, and consultation during depositions to field the curve balls frequently thrown during medically related testimony. Focus on the law â doctors can speak the language of doctors.
MedMal is available for helping layout a trial strategy for preparation of your medical malpractice trial. In-court consultation is also available. Many attorneys find this service particularly useful and utilize MedMal for trial consultation assistance with Voir Dire and when cross examining the defense medical experts.
Some facilities will employ one Flow Record to include medications, intake, output, vital signs, procedures and even Glucometer readings and wound care , but many facilities use separate Flow Records for each one of these tasks, especially outside of the ER setting.
The Respiratory Therapy Record however, may be a part of an Interdisciplinary Team Record or Flow Sheet. Physical Therapy Record. The physical Therapy Department has its own record to document any physically therapeutic rehabilitative treatment for strengthening or regaining use of extremities or muscle groups.
MARs in a general hospital setting are frequently changed because medication dosages and frequencies are often subject to change from day to day depending on the patientâs condition.
The ER Physicianâs Assessment Sheet can be diagnosis driven or generic. It contains the history and physical, review of systems, tests ordered and results, impressions and diagnosis, treatments, referrals, consultations, and finally the patientâs disposition and any applicable discharge instructions.
They are seen immediately because timeliness will affect their morbidity and mortality. These patients account for only about 1% to 3% of all of emergency department visits throughout the country. They represent the true life and death emergencies. Level Two patients are also quite sick (yellow).
When the nurse notes these orders the nurse is signing that the orders have actually been initiated. It is important to carefully review orders and ascertain whether they were carried out. The actual execution of any given order may be found in various parts of the medical record.
ER Nurseâs Notes. The ER Nurseâs Notes may or may not be separate from the ER Nur sing Assessment Sheet. On the floor, the Nurseâs Notes are usually separate from the Nursing Assessment.. Some hospitals use narrative entries and some utilize a check sheet format.
Step #1: Getting the Medical Records. The first step is getting your medical records. If you already have your medical records, you can mail a copy of the medical records to us or send them to us by email.
Doctors usually donât review the medical records right away and itâs common for a case review by a doctor to take two or three weeks.
To prove that you suffered wage loss as a result of medical malpractice, your attorney will need some documentary evidence such as your pay stubs or wage records.
Waiting to seek legal representation can prevent you from filing a claim and receiving the compensation you deserve .
Medical records can be used to demonstrate medical negligence. For example, if you were operated on the wrong site, then your medical records should contain complete information about the date and time of surgery, name, and details of the healthcare provider, site of surgery, procedures followed, and other relevant details.
Any document that you receive from the defendant or attorney should be forwarded to your lawyer. Similarly, any other document that may strengthen or have a bearing on your case should be preserved and provided to the attorney.
Why get stuck scouring through pages and pages of records that can be hard for an attorney to decipher? Plaintiff attorneys across the United States rely on MedMal Consulting physicians for organizing and reviewing medical records for litigation purposes.
Performing a flat fee comprehensive physician review of your clientâs medical records saves you money and allows you to understand the case better to maximize its value. Our doctors interpret the records, review key events chronologically, and take all the factors into consideration in their case evaluation.
Throughout their medical record review for attorneysâ purposes, our physicianâs medical review searches the entire record for key details and events. We take into account all the factors of the case including things like: