Medical malpractice lawsuits are complicated in the state of New York, and a recent ruling may make them even more so.

However, if you’re considering a medical malpractice suit, then it’s crucial to understand what they are and the factors that come into play when filing cases related to medical malpractice.

Here’s what you need to know about medical malpractice and what constitutes a legitimate claim – as well as the changes that are coming to lawsuits such as these.

Medical Malpractice: What Is It?

When a doctor, hospital, or other health care professional, through an act of omission or negligence, causes injury to the person they’re treating, it is considered medical malpractice.

Negligence in these cases can often be related to errors in the treatment, management, diagnosis, or aftercare of a patient.

What Is a Legitimate Medical Malpractice Claim?

For a medical malpractice allegation to be deemed legitimate under the law, it must meet the subsequent criteria:

Standard of Care Violation

There are certain standards of care that are deemed acceptable under the law and medical standards that are acceptable when it comes to treatment that is to be recognized by health care professionals. These standards are referred to as the standard of care.

Patients have the right to expect this certain standard of care to be delivered by a healthcare professional. If the standard of care is not met, then it can be established as negligence.

Injury Due to Negligence

In medical malpractice claims, it’s not sufficient to say that the standard of care was not upheld. You must also be able to show that the injury you sustained was due to negligence on the part of your healthcare provider.

It must be shown that negligence was responsible for your injury and if there had not been negligence, then there would have been no injury to you.

Damages Resulting from the Injury

Medical malpractice suits are famously expensive to litigate and often result in hours of research and deposition of testimony. You must be able to show that you sustained significant damages from the injury received as a result of medical negligence.

Small damages are not usually worth pursuing the cost of the medical malpractice claim, so your injury must have resulted in the loss of income, suffering, significant medical bills, disability, or unusual pain to move the case forward.

New Rules in New York

On February 1, 2021, a new rule went into effect in New York that limits the length of motion papers. As previously mentioned, medical malpractice lawsuits are extensive and expensive because of the hours spent researching the case and deposing testimony from expert witnesses.

The new rule mandates that Orders to Show Cause can only be brought forward due to legitimate urgency, limits the length of motion papers, prohibits sur-reply papers, and introduces new good faith requirements for resolving discovery disputes before a motion.

Failure to comply with these new rules can derail medical malpractice lawsuits quickly, which is why any lawyer you hire must be familiar with these changes to ensure they meet caselaw and to successfully advocate for you.

Medical malpractice is a complicated area of the law, but when you’re injured due to the negligence of a trusted medical professional, it’s the avenue you have to get the damages you deserve.

Understand what constitutes a valid medical malpractice claim and then take steps to bring a lawsuit if you think your case qualifies.

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