Bench Trial or Jury Trial for a Medical Malpractice Case
Did you know that when you bring a medical malpractice lawsuit, you have the right to have your case heard by the judge, and render a decision by the judge, as opposed to having a jury rendered decision? Even when this is allowed, most injured victims in New York prefer to have their case heard by a jury.
Representing surgical malpractice claims in New York
Everyone knows that surgical procedures have inherent risks, but many patients don’t realize that one of the major risks they face during surgery is medical negligence. Each year, 98,000 patients die as a direct result of some form of medical malpractice, according to an Institute of Medicine study.
While the Jury Deliberates
What should you do when the jury is deliberating? You have filed a medical malpractice lawsuit, it has gone all the way to trial, and at the end, the jury has moved on to deliberate. What do you do in the mean time? The jury could deliberate the case for a few minutes or they could take many hours or longer, for them to reach a verdict.
What happens when a Doctor Intentionally Causes Harm
If a doctor intentionally causes you harm in New York, then his insurance company will most likely not provide him with the coverage. Every doctor in New York is required to carry medical malpractice insurance. They do that for the key reason that if the patient suffers harm because of the doctor’s carelessness, the patient has the ability to be compensated by the doctor’s insurance company.
Using a Transcript at a Medical Malpractice Trial
A transcript is nothing more than a booklet containing questions and answers given under oath. Typically, this information is gathered in pretrial testimony, which is a question and answer session called a deposition. This transcript can be quite powerful weapon during the trial.
Unringing the Bell at a Medical Malpractice Trial
Is it possible to unring the bell at the time of a medical malpractice trial? Do you think that if you have said something that should not be said, the jury is likely to forget what you said? During the course of the trial, it is possible for either of the sides to say something that they should not have said. The judge might have decided that a particular topic is completely off limits, and one of the parties addresses something that the judge had ordered not to discuss.
Tactics Used by the Doctor’s Attorney
When you bring a medical malpractice case against a doctor or hospital in New York, you should be ready for a tough legal battle in court. The hospital or doctor will be hiring the best attorneys, since their reputation and some serious money is at stake. These attorneys will mainly employ three tactics to make their case strong:
Should You Retrieve Your Own Medical Records
You suspect that your doctor has done something that has caused you significant harm. When you go to your attorney, he will want to investigate the matter, and might ask you to turn over your medical records. However, is it proper for the attorney to give you such instructions?
Questioning Strategy during a Deposition
The doctor refuses to acknowledge and admit that he has violated the basic standards of medical care. In a medical malpractice case, it is critical for the plaintiff’s lawyer to get the doctor to admit during pretrial testimony, why he violated the basic and accepted standards of care. In an actual medical malpractice case, an anesthesiologist improperly administered an anesthetic medication that caused the plaintiff to suffer a cardiac arrest.
Objections Raised During a Deposition
In a medical malpractice case there could be instances where one of the defense attorneys could start screaming and yelling at the plaintiff’s lawyer during deposition. For instance, the plaintiff’s lawyer was taking pretrial testimony of an obstetrician in a medical malpractice case involving failure to deliver a baby in a timely manner, which caused significant injuries to the precious baby.