Pennsylvania medical malpractice laws allow patients who have been caused injury by doctor or hospital staff negligence to file a lawsuit against them. In order to have a meritorious medical malpractice lawsuit against a doctor in Pennsylvania, the law requires that certain elements of a case are met. These elements can best be described by the following questions.
Did a Pennsylvania Doctor or Hospital Perform Negligently?
The most crucial element of a medical lawsuit in Pennsylvania is that of doctor or hospital staff negligence. Negligent medical performance can be defined as performing in such a way that other medical experts would consider less than the accepted medical standard of care.
In a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawsuit, the defense will try to establish that it was not negligence that caused the injury, but rather the inevitable outcome of medical treatment. For this reason, the negligence on the doctors part must be proven "by a preponderance of the evidence", which means the evidence shows that more than likely, the doctor performed negligently.
Was a Patient Caused Significant Injury or Damages?
The second part of a valid medical lawsuit requires that a patient suffered some significant injury. The way a lawsuit against a doctor or hospital works, is it's filed demanding compensation for something. That something is an injury that caused some economic damages such as lost income, medical expenses and loss of future earning ability.
Additionally, non-economic damages can be demanded. Non-economic damages are those which cannot be valuated, such as pain and suffering, permanent disability and loss of enjoyment of life. In many states, the law places a cap on the amount of money medical malpractice victims can get for non-economic damages, but in Pennsylvania, there is no cap so patients can often receive very large awards or settlements for their suffering.
What if the Patient Died?
In medical malpractice lawsuits that involve the wrongful death of a patient, the his ir her family members also have the right to seek all the above damages and compensation, in addition to suing for loss of consortium, loss of family relationship and wrongful death.
Did the Doctors Negligence Cause the Injury?
The third part of a medical malpractice lawsuit involves proving that the doctors negligence was a direct cause of the patients injury. In Pennsylvania medical malpractice law, this legal idea is called causation, and if it cannot be proven by the evidence, then the lawsuit cannot be successful.
In order to establish causation, a medical malpractice lawyer will enlist the aide of a medical expert witness. The expert witness is a medical doctor with experience in the type of treatment that caused the patient the injury. He or she will examine the evidence and circumstances of the case to determine if and how the doctors error directly resulted in the patients injury.
Filing a Lawsuit Against a Doctor or Hospital in Pennsylvania
Bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit in Pennsylvania is a difficult task, and requires a specialist medical malpractice lawyer in order to have any chance at success. Medical Malpractice Insurance companies employ teams of dedicated medical malpractice defense attorneys that will fight to ensure the insurance company pays out as little as possible. For injured patients, it's not enough to hire a general practice attorney, these cases are much too complicated and there is too much at stake. If you or a loved one have suffered an injury due to medical negligence, it's important to talk to a medical malpractice lawyer that practices in Pennsylvania.
