Burden of Proof in Filing a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Cleveland July 5, 2012.
When filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in Cleveland, Ohio, you are responsible for proving that your physician and/or the medical facility was negligent. Seeking legal counsel for assistance is a great idea, but here is some evidence you will need to show a lawyer before he or she can build a case on your behalf.
Medical Records
Any doctor’s visit or medical treatment that may have led to your current medical condition will be important to your case.
Hospital Bills
In addition to helping create a paper trail that led up to the incident in question, bills may be useful in establishing the amount you should be compensated for your injuries.
Information About the Doctor
Be sure to prepare a list of every physician who treated you. It should include:
- names;
- addresses;
- email addresses;
- telephone numbers;
- the dates you were treated;
- the location of treatment; and
- why you were seen.
You also may want to write down the contact information for other medical staff, such as nurse practitioners, pharmacists, therapists, and the like.
Documents to Prove Earnings
Wage information is particularly important if your condition has prevented you from being able to go to work.
Depending on your particular circumstance, you may need other types of evidence. Contact our medical malpractice attorneys who can explain what you will need to provide in order to prove your case.
It is important to note that you must also show that your treating physician acted outside the reasonable standard of care required. This typically entails hiring an expert witness who will investigate the procedures your doctor performed and determine whether his or her actions fell below the accepted standard of care. You also must show that negligence resulted in your current state of health.
Establishing a Doctor-Patient Relationship
Another facet of your burden of proof is establishing that a doctor-patient relationship existed between you and the named physician. Once demonstrated via doctor’s visits and prescribed treatments, you then establish that the doctor owed you a duty of care. This means the physician should have treated the condition within acceptable standards andeffectively communicated the course of treatment along with follow-up care. A patient is entitled to file a medical malpractice suit if his or her doctor failed to adequately explain what treatment he or she would be undergoing. Dangerous medical errors have occurred when medical staff failed to ensure that patients understood what was required during their aftercare.
How Do I File a Claim?
Attorney Chris Mellino has been helping injured patients for almost 40 years. Contact our Cleveland office today for a free consultation or request our free, easy-to-read guide to filing claims in Ohio.
