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What is Involved in Clinical Negligence Cases?

Larry Ray Palmer
Larry Ray Palmer

Clinical negligence cases, a form of medical malpractice claims, are brought about by the negligence or deliberate actions of a medical professional and his or her staff. When these acts of negligence cause harm to the professional's patients, the patients might choose to file clinical negligence cases through the legal system. Research has shown that hundreds of thousands of patients die every year from clinical negligence, and many clinical negligence cases result in the plaintiff being paid a monetary settlement. Clinical negligence cases typically involve filing a claim and negotiating a settlement, although these cases sometimes must be settled in court.

For those who have been injured by a medical professional's negligence, clinical negligence cases provide a method to be reimbursed for their losses. When a medical professional's actions or failure to act causes the injured patient to miss work, lose a limb or limb function, require additional medical treatment or result in the patient's death, this is known as clinical negligence. The patient or the patient's survivors can seek restitution by filing clinical negligence claims in court.

A judge or jury may rule in favor of the doctor or the patient in a clinical negligence case.
A judge or jury may rule in favor of the doctor or the patient in a clinical negligence case.

Filing a clinical negligence lawsuit is a fairly straightforward process, but timing is essential to the process. A strict statute of limitations exists in many regions of the world, and this prohibits the filing of a clinical negligence claim after a certain time period has passed. If a clinical negligence case is not filed before this time limit expires, the injured patient and his or her survivors are prohibited from filing a claim.

Clinical negligence cases deal with medical malpractice claims.
Clinical negligence cases deal with medical malpractice claims.

Clinical negligence litigation can sometimes be avoided by opening a line of communication with the healthcare professional or the facility. This step can be something as simple as writing a formal letter explaining the patient's complaints and asking for resolution. Although this step might provide a resolution to the issue in some cases, the prevalence of frivolous lawsuits in modern society has led many medical facilities and medical professionals to purchase medical malpractice insurance and hire full legal teams to defend themselves against such frivolous lawsuits.

In such cases, the patient might be directed to contact the medical facility's insurance company or legal team. Before doing this, the patient should contact his or her own clinical negligence attorney or medical malpractice attorney to protect his or her interests. The medical professional's legal team and insurers are paid to protect the medical facility, so the settlement offered by these groups might not be in the best interests of the injured patient. By hiring his or her own attorney, the patient can receive information about the filing of clinical negligence lawsuits and reasonable settlements for clinical negligence cases matching the patient's own situation.

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    • A judge or jury may rule in favor of the doctor or the patient in a clinical negligence case.
      By: Valeriy
      A judge or jury may rule in favor of the doctor or the patient in a clinical negligence case.
    • Clinical negligence cases deal with medical malpractice claims.
      By: beerkoff
      Clinical negligence cases deal with medical malpractice claims.