What Evidence Is Needed In a Medical Malpractice Claim?
We put our lives into our doctor’s hands and anticipate that they will treat it as carefully as they would their own, under the standard of care accepted as appropriate by the medical community. Unfortunately, doctors fail to live up to the expected standard of care more often than we’d like to believe. A Johns Hopkins study suggests that medical malpractice may be the third leading cause of death in the United States.
Working with an award-winning Atlanta medical malpractice attorney, a successful malpractice claim can help the victim of a doctor’s negligence or medical error recover compensation for the economic damages caused by the injury or worsened medical outcome, as well as for their pain and suffering. Before taking on the challenging legal process of a medical malpractice claim, it’s essential to understand the evidence that helps build a compelling case.
What To Do to Preserve Evidence After You Suspect Medical Malpractice
It’s sometimes difficult to take purposeful action after suffering the ill effects of medical malpractice, but compiling evidence as soon as possible after a doctor’s medical malpractice is a critical first step in your case. If you believe you or a close family member was harmed due to a medical provider’s negligence, it’s beneficial to do the following:
- Ask for a copy of your complete medical record from the facility where the medical malpractice occurred, and your medical record from before the malpractice
- Undergo a complete medical assessment by a trusted doctor who is unrelated to the facility where the malpractice took place, and ask for a detailed medical report
- Follow your trusted physician’s advice carefully
- Save all medical bills, invoices, and receipts for out-of-pocket expenses
- Save copies of all communications between you and the medical facility where the medical malpractice occurred
Your medical records from before, during, and after your treatment at the facility where the medical malpractice occurred are essential evidence in your case. Medical records include crucial data, such as your physician’s notes and test orders, lab and imaging test results, nurses’ notes, operative and post-op reports, and a list of medications administered to you while you were in the facility’s care.
What Other Evidence Makes a Strong Medical Malpractice Case?
Besides your medical reports, a medical malpractice attorney will build your case using evidence such as eyewitness testimony, the testimony of medical experts, and documentation of the impacts of the medical malpractice on your employment and abilities. Employer statements showing your lost earnings and benefits, and eyewitness testimony from family members about the physical and emotional harm you’ve experienced and its impact on your daily life, also become essential evidence showing the financial, physical, and emotional impacts of the injury.
If a loved one died due to medical malpractice, gathering their medical records from before and after the malpractice injury occurred, as well as a copy of the autopsy report, is critical evidence for a medical malpractice, wrongful death case.
How Can a Georgia Medical Malpractice Attorney Help My Case?
Medical malpractice is an egregious violation of the trust we put into our doctors and other healthcare providers. When a doctor fails to live up to the medical community’s accepted standard of care, the evidence must demonstrate this to make a compelling claim. Evidence must also show that the injury or worsened medical condition was the direct result of the medical malpractice and caused the medical malpractice victim to suffer economic and non-economic damages. Most cases with legal representation from a personal injury lawyer in Atlanta end in a settlement from the negligent provider’s malpractice insurance when an experienced attorney represents them in the claim.
Call the Georgia medical malpractice attorneys at Piasta Walker Hagenbush for experienced legal representation, meticulous attention to filing details, and a trial-ready attorney arguing for your best interests throughout the process of your medical malpractice case.