If you think you have a medical malpractice case, you may be wondering what do medical malpractice lawyers do? The first question to be answered is what is medical malpractice? Poor bedside manner isn’t medical malpractice. To have a successful medical malpractice case, you must have:
- A doctor-patient relationship exists;
- Treatment or the absence of treatment that falls below the standard of care;
- The failure in the standard of care caused harm; and
- Harm resulted to the patient.
A plaintiff must demonstrate these elements exist. Proving a failure in the standard of care is difficult. As is, proving that the failure caused harm. This is where a medical malpractice lawyer and their experts come in.
What Does a Medical Malpractice Lawyer Do?
The Medical Standard of Care
The standard of care is a source of contention in a medical malpractice case. Defining the standard can be a two-part undertaking directed by medical experts. Plaintiffs must show:
- the appropriate medical standard of care that should apply to the case, and
- where the doctor or healthcare provider fell short.
So, what are the acceptable standards and how did the doctor mess up? Proving the mess up is usually accomplished through the use of medical experts.
Plaintiff’s Team Proving Breach in the Standard of Care
The medical malpractice attorney needs to establish how the medical standard of care was “breached.” This is how the doctor failed. The attorney must ensure that the medical expert walks the jury through each step. First, establishing the standard of care. Then taking the jury through the failure and how the exact failure caused the harm. This is a technical process.
The causal connection between the failure and the harm is important to prove. Unless the failure caused some form of injury, there is no case. Not all failures cause damage or make things worse. Also, not all failures cause the ultimate harm.
A medical malpractice attorney can review the medical records, talk to the doctors and nurses involved, and consult with the right medical experts. Combing through details is crucial to making a good case. Hiring the right medical experts is also the job of a medical malpractice attorney. Making the case and talking to the right people is the job of a good medical malpractice attorney.
