Even when the harm caused by them is reasonably mild, medical malpractice cases are terrifying. You trusted your health to a medical professional, believing that they would not harm you. Instead, through a disregard of medical norms, they worsened your condition or caused you unnecessary harm while treating you. What can you do when medical professionals abuse your trust like this? Pennsylvania law allows you to file a medical malpractice case against medical personnel who violate medical standards. To win this case, though, you need to prove malpractice fault. Proving malpractice fault is a rigorous legal process that typically requires the assistance of an experienced medical malpractice attorney.
Proving Malpractice Fault in Pennsylvania
A medical malpractice claim is a type of personal injury claim. These types of claims are easier in some ways to prove than other types of personal injury claims, but they’re harder in some respects. These differences are partially due to the four elements of negligence and specific Pennsylvania laws regarding finding fault in medical negligence.
Pennsylvania Laws and the Certificate of Merit
The first thing our lawyers will do when you approach us about a potential medical malpractice claim is to determine whether you have a case. We will investigate the details of your claim and try to determine whether the potential defendant violated medical standards. However, even if we conclude that the defendant committed medical malpractice, that opinion is not strong enough to support a medical malpractice claim.
Under Pennsylvania law, you need a licensed medical professional to file a certificate of merit for your case. This means that the medical professional has examined you and the treatment you received and determined that the treatment was improper. Without that certificate, your case can’t proceed through the court system. Insurance companies typically also won’t negotiate a settlement without a certificate of merit because they know that without one, you can’t successfully file a lawsuit.
Without a certificate of merit from a PA-licensed medical professional, there is no way to prove a medical malpractice case in court.
Elements of Negligence
Does that mean that all you need to prove fault in a medical malpractice case is a certificate of merit from another medical professional? Unfortunately, no. While a certificate of merit is necessary for proving fault, it is hardly sufficient on its own. To prove fault, your attorney will need to prove the four elements of negligence.
The Defendant Had a Duty to Protect You From Harm
This is one of the easiest elements to prove in a medical malpractice case. Medical professionals like doctors and nurses are professionally obligated to protect the health of their patients. They should never be doing anything that would cause additional harm unless that harm is necessary to improve the patient’s health and the patient has agreed to it. To prove duty of care, we generally need to show only that the defendant is a medical professional and that you were their patient.
The Defendant Violated This Duty by Providing Care That Falls Outside Acceptable Professional Standards
This is the element where a certificate of merit is most needed. Professional medical standards, while moderately strict, often leave a lot of room for medical professionals to use their best judgment. However, best judgment can go only so far. A medical professional who signs a certificate of merit is willing to testify, under oath, that the actions taken by the defendant were unreasonable given the circumstances. While having a single medical professional is all the law requires to pursue legal action, it is best if your lawyer can get multiple medical professionals to support this claim.
Were you harmed while under the care of a doctor or some other medical professional? That harm might have occurred because they violated professional standards and took liberties with your health. The medical malpractice attorneys at Wapner Newman will help you prove fault when you are the victim of medical malpractice. Call us today at (215) 569-0900 to schedule a free consultation.
That Violation Resulted in the Harm You Suffered
This element of medical malpractice is also covered by the certificate of merit. When a certificate of merit is issued, the medical professional who signs it must state that the plaintiff’s actions caused the harm. However, a single certificate usually isn’t enough to prove this definitively. You will want extensive medical records and records of communication between you and the defendant, if possible. Medical records will support your claim that the actions of the defendant caused you harm. Communication records can be used to prove that the defendant failed to advise you of potential harm and get your approval before performing harmful actions.
You Suffered Significant Financial Harm Due to the Medical Malpractice
The final step in proving negligence is proving that you suffered economic damages. A nurse, for example, could fail to provide you with appropriate hydration, resulting in your getting a nasty headache. While that would fulfill the first three elements of negligence, it wouldn’t fulfill this final element. Except for possibly the cost of an aspirin, you wouldn’t suffer meaningful financial harm from those actions.
Thankfully, there are several ways to suffer significant financial harm sufficient to meet the standards for this element. The most common way is to require additional medical treatment after medical malpractice. You can produce the medical bills from that treatment to prove that you suffered expenses related to the malpractice.
Alternatively, some cases of medical malpractice may result in needing more expensive treatment than you would have needed otherwise. In that case, you need the expertise of a medical professional to explain the difference and medical bills to prove your case. Other expenses like lost wages should also be documented and produced to prove this element.
How Long It Takes to Prove Fault
You could potentially spend years or even decades collecting evidence to prove fault. However, you don’t have unlimited time to take legal action in Pennsylvania. According to the statute of limitations, you need to file a lawsuit no more than two years after the medical malpractice occurred or two years after you discovered it if it wasn’t immediately apparent. If you wait longer than that to act, it doesn’t matter how much evidence you collect; the court will dismiss your case with prejudice because you missed the deadline to take legal action.
Therefore, our medical malpractice attorneys want to collect as much evidence as possible but can’t afford to let the time limit run out. Our legal team will always be cognizant of the deadline and will file a lawsuit when necessary to ensure that you don’t fall prey to that deadline.
Contact a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Philadelphia Today
Were you harmed while under the care of a doctor, nurse, or hospital? You might have been a victim of medical malpractice. The sooner you consult with an experienced attorney at Wapner Newman, the sooner we can try to prove fault in your case.
Don’t wait to consult with a lawyer. Call our law firm at (215) 569-0900 as soon as possible to get help in determining whether you have been the victim of medical malpractice.