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Patients have the right to expect their healthcare providers to meet their standard of care when they provide services. If your doctor causes you harm because of a medical error or negligence, you may have a claim for damages. However, medical malpractice lawsuits are complex personal injury cases. Therefore, you need an experienced medical malpractice lawyer to help you understand medical malpractice lawsuit requirements in Washington State.
Medical malpractice is a type of personal injury that occurs when a healthcare provider fails to provide the accepted standard of care for a given situation. The failure may be due to a medical error or medical negligence. A claim arises when the doctor’s actions cause the patient harm or injury.
Not all bad outcomes or unsuccessful treatments are caused by medical negligence. Doctors cannot predict or control every outcome. If the doctor provides care that meets the accepted standard of care, they may not be liable if treatment is unsuccessful or the patient experiences an adverse reaction.
Examples of medical malpractice include, but are not limited to:
A medical malpractice claim may be settled without filing a lawsuit. However, medical professionals and their insurance providers may deny the claim. If so, you will need to file a medical malpractice lawsuit to pursue damages.
Proving medical malpractice requires sufficient evidence to establish the following legal elements:
Your lawyer will be able to help you prove each of the above elements.
Evidence in a medical malpractice case includes but is not limited to:
Writing your feelings and experiences in a pain and suffering journal is very helpful. The journal helps you recall your experience accurately, including your daily pain levels, emotional struggles, and activities and tasks you could not perform.
Some states require plaintiffs (i.e., the injured party) in a medical malpractice lawsuit to file a Certificate of Merit with the lawsuit. The Certificate of Merit is an affidavit from a medical expert attesting there is a legal basis for the claim.
Revised Code of Washington (RCW) §7.70.150 required a medical affidavit to be filed with a medical malpractice lawsuit. However, that law was repealed. Therefore, you need medical experts to prove your case in court, but you do not need an affidavit to file a lawsuit.
The statute of limitations for medical malpractice lawsuits is three years from the injury date. Exceptions to the rule could change that date. If you do not discover the injury until later, you have one year from the date you discovered or should have discovered the injury to file a lawsuit.
However, the statute of repose places an eight-year deadline for filing medical malpractice lawsuits. This means you must file a medical malpractice lawsuit within eight years of the injury date at the absolute latest or lose the right to pursue a legal claim. The statute of repose may not apply in some cases, including but not limited to cases involving foreign objects left inside a patient’s body or fraud by the medical provider to conceal the malpractice.
The deadlines to file a medical malpractice lawsuit can be confusing. It is best to seek legal advice from an attorney as soon as you suspect a medical professional may have caused you harm or injury.
Some states have caps on damages in medical malpractice lawsuits. The state limits how much an injured patient can receive for economic and non-economic damages. However, that is not the case in Washington. The amount you receive for a medical malpractice lawsuit is up to the jury.
Factors that impact the amount of damages awarded in a medical malpractice case include:
Hiring an experienced Seattle medical malpractice lawyer can also impact the outcome of your case. Because these cases are more complicated than your average personal injury claim, you want an attorney who understands the complex nature of proving a medical provider caused your injuries.
The Seattle medical malpractice attorneys at Davis Law Group Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers have extensive experience handling these types of claims. We‘ll review your case, explain your legal options, and discuss damages during a free case review. Contact our team at (206) 727 4000 for a free consultation. We help injured parties and their families seek the compensation they deserve when a medical professional causes them injury.
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