West Virginia residents who suspect medical malpractice must prepare to go through a possibly lengthy malpractice process. When you believe your doctor was the cause of your injury, you must have sufficient evidence to prove it.
Medical malpractice cases must show that there was a dereliction of the doctor’s duty to the patient. Proving this is not always easy. At the firm of Frankovitch, Anetakis, Simon, Decapio & Pearl, LLP, we want to make sure you understand what you need to have a chance of prevailing in a medical malpractice case. Consider the following prongs of negligence and try to apply them to your situation.
Establish a relationship
First and foremost, you have to verify you were a patient of the doctor. If you used cash or insurance to engage the doctor, then this should prove sufficient in establishing the relationship.
You got hurt
Doctors take an oath to do no harm when they receive their license to practice. To show negligence, you must prove that a doctor went against this and did something causing harm. A lack of action by the doctor when called for also falls under this provision.
Negligence led to injury or illness
The doctor’s behavior was negligent in that he or she disregarded the duty of care. Once you can prove this, you must also show that this negligent behavior resulted in your injury or illness.
You suffered as a result
The final prong has to do with damages. You must show that the negligence caused by the doctor resulted in suffering. This may show up in the form of pain, job loss, medical debt and anguish.
You may want to consider hiring an expert witness who can review the evidence and testify as to how negligence occurred. For more information, continue to our website.