Proving negligence is a challenge in medical malpractice claims
Medical malpractice is often referred to as medical negligence. Whatever you call it, you may have a claim if the care provided by a healthcare professional or facility failed to follow the acceptable standard and the patient suffered an injury or got worse.
Many medical malpractice lawyers in the Bronx provide free consultations to help you determine if your claim meets the legal criteria. Even if something went terribly wrong during the course of your medical care, your claim may not meet the criteria that the law requires.
Legal elements required to prove medical negligence
Medical malpractice claims can be difficult to prove in court because New York law has four specific elements needed to prove negligence:
- Legal duty the healthcare provider owed to the patient. You need to establish if there is a professional relationship between you (the patient) and the healthcare provider (doctor, nurse, technician, lab, hospital, clinic, etc.). Legally, this means that the healthcare provider had an obligation to provide reasonable care. This is usually assumed when a doctor agrees to treat you and/or a hospital treats you.
- The healthcare provider breached that duty. Healthcare providers must provide an “accepted standard of medical care” that would be expected of other reasonable healthcare providers put in a similar situation. This can be very difficult to prove and usually requires expert testimony to establish what reasonable course of action would normally be taken and how the healthcare provider failed to meet (breached) the accepted standard of medical care.
- The patient suffered an injury. Even if you can prove you had a relationship with the provider and the care was not acceptable, if you were not injured, legally, there was no negligence. You must also prove that you were injured.
- There is proof that the healthcare provider’s breach caused the injury. Finally, you must prove that the injury is a result of the action (or inaction) of the healthcare provider. If you can prove your medical negligence claim, the compensation that you receive is based on the extent of the injuries caused by the healthcare provider’s behavior.
Gathering the documentation you need to prove medical malpractice can be difficult and time- consuming. You should contact a personal injury lawyer Bronx as soon as possible if you think you are the victim of medical negligence.
Call for a free consultation with a Bronx medical negligence attorney
If you want to know whether a medical error is actually medical negligence or malpractice, Bronx attorney Evan W. Kohn can help you get appropriate compensation for your physical, emotional and financial injuries. Contact The Law Offices of Evan W. Kohn online or by calling 718-409-5500 to arrange a free consultation about your case.