Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Defending a Medical Malpractice Claim

 


Facing litigation for a negligent action is a serious problem for a medical practitioner. If you lose, apart from the obvious consequence of paying a hefty compensation, it sure jeopardizes your medical career. Active defense is a necessity in such a situation, and you need a competent injury attorney for the job.


 


The key to medical malpractice defense is in the elements of the suit. Before you discuss the strategies to use, you need to understand these. Here is a quick look at the details pertaining to such a lawsuit.


 


The burden of proof in a medical malpractice suit is on the plaintiff's side. This implies that the victim, or his attorney, would need to establish two things – the occurrence of negligent action/non-action on the part of the medical practitioner, and the occurrence of injuries resulting from this negligence.


 


In such a circumstance, two important questions arise –


 


Was there any negligence? The first point that the plaintiff's attorney needs to establish is that your action, or inaction, fell below the proper standard of care that should have been provided under the circumstances.


 


If the Johnson City Injury Attorneys working on your behalf can arrange for experts to establish that your action, or inaction, did not fall below the standard of care, it could work as an effective defense.

If the judge/jury finds the expert testimonials on your side more credible, it may be possible to get a dismissal.

 


Did it cause any injuries? A victim can only recover compensation only if there were injuries or damages.

If your attorney is capable of establishing that there were no such injuries, even if there was negligence, the case does not hold ground.

 


Your attorney may also use expert testimonials to establish that the injuries were a natural outcome of the condition, and your role had no effect on it. The standard of evidence, necessary to establish a certain point, in a civil case is lower than that of a criminal one. The stronger the evidence, the better are your chances of successful defense.


 


Your objective to defend a claim is not to cheat an injured individual out of his/her rightful compensation. You need legal help to ensure that not every negative medical outcome becomes a ground for suing you. After all, there is no way to guarantee favorable results in a medical procedure, especially in complex ones.


 


The injury laws of Tennessee seek to compensate people suffering damages because of negligent medical practitioners. However, these do not imply that every negative outcome in a medical case is because of a negligent doctor.


 


Please visit lawyer guide for more information.