Patient Recovery Options for Surgical Negligence Injury

Basically the recovery options for an individual who has suffered a surgical injury due to the medical malpractice of a healthcare provider or “surgical negligence” are (1) recovery by judgment, (2) recovery by settlement and (3) recovery by binding arbitration.

Recovery by State Court Judgment

If an injured person decides to file a complaint in a State court against a surgeon for medical malpractice there are several specific elements he will need to be able to prove to succeed with his action and access a recovery amount.

Essentially, all medical malpractice claims require the same basic elements for actionable causation to exist.

A duty of care was owed the patient by the physician or healthcare provider
That duty of care was breached by physician failure to conform to the relevant standard of medical care.
The breach of the standard of care must be shown by expert testimony, or in the case of obvious errors such as an act involving, “res ipsa loquitur,” the negligent act by the physician speaks for itself without need for expert testimony.
The breach of duty caused either a direct injury or was the proximate cause of an injury to the patient.
Damages

Recovery by Settlement

Recovery by settlement is available to the parties in a civil action. Those individuals named as parties in a complaint for medical malpractice or surgical negligence in a State court action try to avoid a trial on the merits of the case by reaching a pre-trial agreement which involves the subsequent dismissing of the case based on usually a court approved agreement.

Recovery by Binding Arbitration

Recovery by way of Binding Arbitration is a method that is being used more and more between injured patients and healthcare providers to settle a dispute concerning a medical or surgical injury. Both patient and physician often times are more comfortable with a process that does not include the State Court system for numerous reasons.

Getting Legal Help

If you or a member of your family has suffered a surgical injury that you believe occurred due to the surgical negligence of a healthcare provider it may be helpful to discuss the circumstances of the injury with a personal injury attorney. An attorney can evaluate the medical records and documentation and take the steps necessary to protect the injured patient’s rights in medical malpractice in the State courts and in binding arbitration situations.

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