Medical Malpractice

There are many factors that determine the amount of compensation that a victim of medical malpractice will receive, including how you were injured, the severity of your injuries, your prognosis, and the amount of work you missed. The more severe your injury, the longer it takes you to recover, and the more work you miss, the higher your medical malpractice settlement is likely to be.

The statute of limitation for a medical malpractice claim is determined by state law. State statute of limitations range from 1 year to 5 years, beginning when the medical mistake occurred. However, most states have special rules that give victims additional time to file claims if the injury was such that the victim did not know right away that they were injured. In those cases, the time timeframe begins when the victim actually knew or should have known about the medical mistake.

Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, dentist, nurse, or other medical professional provides a patient with negligent care and as a result the patient suffers an injury. To prove medical malpractice, a doctor-patient relationship must have existed. Further, the patient must have suffered an injury and the doctor’s negligence must have caused the injury. Finally, the patient must have suffered harm such as physical pain, mental anguish, or increased medical bills and expenses.