We put a lot of trust in the hands of the medical professionals who serve us. As we should, of course: they very literally hold our lives in our hands. Now more than ever it is essential for medical professionals to conduct themselves up to the standards of the law.

If you believe a doctor or medical professional has handled your case negligently, you might be interested in filling one or more medical malpractice claims. How do you know if you have the grounds to bring a claim against your doctor? It’s not always easy to tell. 

Read on, and we’ll walk you through what you need to know about medical malpractice lawsuits.

Basic Requirements of a Claim

Not every mistake or incident made in a doctor’s office can be considered malpractice. If that was the case, families would sue every time a family member passed away. In order to bring a medical malpractice claim forward, one must meet the proper claim requirements.

First and foremost, one must be able to prove that a doctor-patient relationship existed between yourself and the medical practitioner. That is to say, you need to be able to prove that a formal and professional relationship was agreed upon between the two parties.

Asking your friend who is a doctor for some advice on the side, for example, would not give you the ground you need to bring a medical malpractice claim forward.

The most important requirement is the negligence of the doctor in question. A doctor is allowed, legally speaking, to make mistakes as part of their job. What they cannot do, however, is administer care or make decisions that do stand up to the basic level of care that would be expected from others in the medical community.

As long as a doctor showed ‘reasonable care’ in their actions and decision-making, they will have no trouble avoiding such a claim.

In addition, the negligence of the medical professional would need to have some sort of ramifications. If a doctor acted negligently but no harm came from it, a person would not be able to bring a medical malpractice claim forward.

One must link a doctor’s actions to injuries of some sort that they’ve sustained if they hope to make a claim stick.

More on Negligence and Injuries 

Now that you know the requirements you need to bring medical malpractice claims forward, we can dive a bit deeper into the specifics.

What exactly is an indicator of negligent behavior on the part of a doctor? How do you know if what you’ve experienced is a result of negligence?

Negligence does not mean that you are simply unhappy with the care that was provided to you. It must mean that the doctor took actions that others in the medical community would not find acceptable.

If you think your medical professional might have acted negligently, the best thing you can do is reach out to other doctors. Tell them the steps and actions that the individual in question took, and see if they find those actions to be reasonable or not.

If no, you might be able to proceed with your medical malpractice case.

Remember: those negligent actions must also have contributed to some sort of harm. This could be a death, a health condition, or severe mental anguish of some sort. A plaintiff must be able to prove that a doctor’s actions ‘more likely than not’ led to this harm.

How can this be proved? Once again, the best course of action is usually to get the opinion of other medical experts. These are the kinds of people who will be called to the stand as witnesses in a medical malpractice case.

Other Requirements in Medical Malpractice Cases

Depending on where in the United States you live, there might also be other requirements you have to meet in order to bring a medical malpractice case forward.

In most states, for example, a medical malpractice case must be brought forward somewhat quickly after the injury in question is sustained. The exact timeline varies from location to location, but some states only allow windows as small as a few months.

The time where this clock starts ticking is also different depending on where you live. While most places have things set to start when an injury is discovered, some base their timetables around when the negligent activity occurred.

These timelines are meant to protect doctors from claims that would be hard to prove, given that injuries can worsen from lack of care over a long period of time.

Some states also require possible victims to submit to a medical malpractice review board before being allowed to bring a claim forward through the justice system. A review board will look over the facts of a case and determine if the case has the grounds to stand up in court.

If yes, the findings of this review panel can then be presented in the courtroom as part of the prosecuting team’s evidence.

Some states also cap the amount that can be picked up by victims. One should look into their local laws for more details.

What to Know About Medical Malpractice Claims

There are a lot of different rules and regulations that surround medical malpractice claims. If you hope to bring such a claim forward, it’s essential to be familiar with all of the above information. 

Need more legal advice and tips? Keep scrolling our blog for more information.