What Do You Need to Prove in Medical Malpractice Lawsuits in Connecticut?

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Medical malpractice means a healthcare practitioner breached the standard of care for their patient. However, for a medical malpractice suit to hold, the patient must have suffered real injuries and damages because of this breach. Furthermore, to establish fault and claim damages from the at-fault medical professional, you must prove that your healthcare provider departed from the applicable standard of care and caused injury. Medical malpractice lawsuits can be technical by nature, and you may need to consult a lawyer. If you are a victim of medical malpractice in Connecticut, here are the legal elements you need to prove.

You Interacted With the Medical Professional

The first thing you must prove in a Connecticut medical malpractice lawsuit is that a doctor-patient interaction occurred. In other words, you can only file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor or healthcare professional who treated you. Legally, this means the medical professional must maintain a standard of care towards you.

The Medical Professional Breached a Duty of Care

After establishing proof that the medical practitioner owed you a duty of care, you must also show that they breached it. “Contextually, the exact standard of care that the healthcare professional owes you depends on their area of practice and your condition,” says Attorney Russell Berkowitz of Berkowitz Hanna Malpractice & Injury Lawyers. Furthermore, you would need expert witnesses to testify to show the threshold for acceptable treatment in your case. The expert witness will also demonstrate how the medical professional breached the established standard of care.

Their Medical Indiscretion Caused You Actual Damages

In some cases, the error of a medical professional does not cause the patient injuries or incur damages. However, for there to be a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit, the patient must have suffered injuries or damages. This means the medical professional’s indiscretion or negligence must have caused you losses, whether quantifiable or unquantifiable. For you to be able to hold the medical professional liable, their indiscretion must have been the direct cause of your losses. Legally, in Connecticut, this is known as establishing the causal relationship between the doctor’s negligence and your losses.

However, plaintiffs can find it hard to establish actual and proximate causation in medical negligence cases. This is because patients, more often than not, seek medical attention only after suffering the injury. Therefore, you would need to demonstrate a preponderance of evidence to prove that your doctor was negligent.

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The Damages Must Be Compensable

The last element to prove in a medical malpractice lawsuit in Connecticut is that you can get compensation for your damages. These include economic and non-economic damages, such as medical bills, rehabilitation costs, mental anguish, pain and suffering, and lost wages.

The Importance of Working with a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

There is a strict timeline for filing a medical malpractice claim in Connecticut based on negligence. You might want to work with a Connecticut medical malpractice lawyer to ensure you do not miss important deadlines.

Additionally, before you can file your lawsuit, you must follow certain pre-suit procedures based on Connecticut’s personal injury law. For instance, you must first submit the claim to an expert panel who will determine whether or not malpractice occurred. Failure to follow these pre-suit procedures could result in your claim being forfeited, even if you file it on time.

In medical malpractice lawsuits in Connecticut, the plaintiff or the physician can submit the panel’s report to the judge. The judge will consider it and decide whether a medical malpractice lawsuit is possible. Moreover, while it does not replace a lawsuit, the panel’s decision regarding the occurrence of malpractice can influence the court’s decision.

Conclusion

There are many limitations and challenges embedded in medical malpractice lawsuits in Connecticut, including the state’s restriction on damages. For example, while you can get all your medical expenses and lost wages, you can only get a certain amount for other damages. Consulting a medical malpractice lawyer is important; otherwise, navigating the case could be difficult. With the right lawyer, particularly one who specializes in medical negligence claims in Connecticut, you can obtain maximum compensation.

By ML Staff. Images courtesy of Pexels