What do I need to file personal injury medical claims?

To file medical claims against a negligent doctor or other medical professional, plaintiffs must provide evidence – such as expert testimony – that the healthcare professional acted negligently. Evidence of damages is also required to demonstrate the expenses and losses the patient suffered as a result. A Colorado personal injury attorney can help injury victims in Denver collect this information.

Common Medical Errors

Patients undergoing surgical procedures may face various risks, some of which may be preventable. Surgeries are often complicated, stressful procedures, and require the cooperation of an entire team of medical professionals. There’s a lot that can go wrong, from wrong-site surgery to post-operative infection from a retained foreign body left inside the patient.

Of course, any type of medical care can go wrong because of carelessness, mistakes, or poor protocol.

There’s prescription error, birth injuries, failure to diagnose, and several other sub-categories that may warrant filing medical claims against the negligent doctors, surgeons, or other professionals. If this is the case, a Colorado personal injury attorney can provide assistance in evaluating and building a case.

Proof in Personal Injury Medical Claims

The first thing you will need to prove in a malpractice suit is that you had a doctor-patient relationship with the medical professional or hospital. This is generally fairly easy to demonstrate; if you hired the doctor or were treated by a physician in a medical setting then you established a doctor-patient relationship.

However, in cases where your doctor consulted another physician who wasn’t treating you directly and you want to sue the other doctor, the doctor-patient relationship may be called into question.

A malpractice suit is similar to other types of personal injury cases in that the plaintiff needs to prove that the defendant (in this case a physician or hospital) is at fault for his or her injuries. In order for a medical malpractice case to be successful, you will need to show that the doctor failed to provide adequate care.

You can’t successfully sue simply because you weren’t happy with the outcome of a treatment or procedure; it has to be a situation in which the doctor didn’t provide reasonable and competent care. Usually, the court will require a medical expert to evaluate the case and determine whether the physician was negligent when providing care.

In addition, when fling medical claims you will need to show proof that your injuries were caused by the doctor’s error, rather than by natural causes or negligence on the part of someone else. You must also provide proof that you suffered damages as a result.

Documentation You Will Need

 

You may need a good deal of documentation in order to file a malpractice suit, including your:

 

• medical records;
• bills;
• paperwork from your insurance company;

 

• witness statements; and
• proof of income/loss of income.

You should ask your personal injury attorney what specific documents are needed to pursue your case.

Having a Colorado personal injury attorney who is familiar with medical malpractice cases can be very helpful during this time. Attorney D.J. Banovitz helps medical malpractice victims in Denver through the entire process, make sure their rights are respected, and keeps them informed throughout the course of the medical claims case. Call 303-300-5060.