If you wish to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against a doctor or healthcare provider, you will need to hire a medical expert to explain how you were injured and testify on your behalf. A medical expert is generally another doctor who is either currently practicing or teaching medicine or has recently retired from the medical field – and has a similar background and level of experience as the defendant.
Expert witnesses help the jury understand the complexities of the case, from the laws to the medical information, as well as add credibility and support to your claim. Furthermore, the defendant may also have his/her own medical expert to essentially level the playing field.
Medical expert testimony must prove the following two important elements of any medical malpractice case:
Standard of care – The first element a plaintiff must establish in a medical malpractice case is the duty of care the doctor owed to the patient. The medical expert could explain the standard of care that a doctor with the same specialty and working in the same geographic region would provide and what a competent doctor would have done under similar circumstances if the proper standard of care was administered.
Breach of care – The second element a plaintiff needs to establish is how the defendant breached the standard of care. The expert witness could explain how the doctor failed to follow the proper standard of care, such as misdiagnosing the patient’s condition, failing to order the proper tests, making a surgical mistake, or otherwise committing an error that led to the plaintiff’s injury.
However, if a medical error is clearly obvious, then medical expert testimony may not be required to understand the facts and circumstances of the case. It is imperative to hire an experienced medical malpractice attorney to thoroughly investigate your case and figure out if you need medical expert testimony to help you hold your doctor liable and recover your entitled compensation.
The Law Offices of David C. Rash has more than three decades of experience helping our medical malpractice clients recover millions of dollars. Contact us today at (954) 914-7116 for a free initial consultation.