Medical malpractice claims are filed when a victim suffers injuries as a result of the negligence of a healthcare professional like a doctor, nurse, technician, or any other personnel in a healthcare environment. That may seem simple enough but is very often not. Under New York’s medicinal malpractice laws, medical negligence occurs when a healthcare provider violates the standard of care in the treatment of a patient.

Basically, for you to file a viable medical malpractice claim, you–and your medical malpractice attorney–must be able to prove the following.

  • The healthcare provider owed you a reasonable standard of supervision or duty of care.
  • He violated the duty of care towards you.
  • That violation resulted in your injury.
  • The injury caused you financial and other losses.

What does “standard of care” mean? This refers to a reasonably acceptable standard of care that a medical provider should provide to a patient one who’s suffering from a specific illness. The standard of care may not be the same for all. The standard of care could differ depending on the age of the patient, his medicinal condition, the illness he suffers from and other factors. Speak to a medical malpractice lawyer in New York about whether the doctor met the acceptable standards of care in your condition.

Proving that the doctor violated the duty of care that he owed to you is even more challenging. This requires testimony by expert witnesses medical experts, and other investigations to determine whether this duty was breached in your case.

Hospitals and doctors often argue that the injuries caused to the patient during treatment, were an unavoidable part of the treatment. In other words, one of the primary defenses in your case will be that the injuries could not be avoided at all. Your lawyer must be able to prove that the injuries were a direct result of the doctor’s negligence, , and that the injuries could have been prevented if the doctor had exercised better care.

If you have suffered injuries due to medical negligence, speak to a personal injury attorney in New York about filing a medical malpractice claim.