Four tips for defending against a medical malpractice claim

The threat posed by a medical malpractice claim is significant. It can damage your reputation, thereby directly impacting your ability to earn an income, and any potential judgments levied against you can leave you on uncertain financial footing. With so much on the line, you have to know how to adequately protect yourself, your interests, and your future. But how do you do that?

Defending against a medical malpractice claim

Fortunately, you may have several approaches to dealing with the medical malpractice lawsuit that’s been brought against you. Let’s look at some of them:

• Attack causation: In order to succeed on a medical malpractice claim, a plaintiff is going to have to demonstrate that your error resulted in the claimed harm. In many instances, though, the damage caused to the patient was inevitable, meaning that it would’ve occurred even if a proper diagnosis had been made and proper treatment had been given. If you can successfully argue, then, that your misstep didn’t cause the plaintiff any additional harm, then you might be able to escape liability.
• Diminish the value of the plaintiff’s expert testimony: The plaintiff in your case is probably going to have one or more experts lined up to testify on his or her behalf. This testimony may address anything from causation to damages. But you may have the ability to attack an expert’s qualifications to show that he or she isn’t qualified to give an expert opinion or that his or her opinion relies upon scientific principles that aren’t adequately proven. If you can make those arguments, then you can diminish the weight given to the expert’s testimony or perhaps even block it altogether.
• Draw damages into question: Remember, even if you’re found to be liable in a case, the plaintiff still has the burden of proving his or her damages. This is a significant part of your case that can have tremendous ramifications for your future. Therefore, you’ll want to carefully scrutinize the facts of your case to see if you can draw the plaintiff’s claimed damages into question.
• Use the law to your advantage: Depending on the facts of your case, there may be case law that you can rely upon to show that you shouldn’t be held accountable for the plaintiff’s injuries. You may also be able to utilize the rules of evidence and the trial rules to file pre-trial motions to better position you for success. You may even be able to get the case dismissed before trial if you have strong pre-trial arguments.

There are likely other arguments that you can make in your case to try to protect your interests. The exact strategy you deploy in your case will largely depend on the facts, though, which is why you need to have a command of those facts and what actually happened during the alleged event.

Do you need an experienced attorney on your side?

With so much at stake in your case, you really owe it to yourself to build the best medical malpractice defense possible. This means knowing the ins and outs of the law and how it applies to your case as well as how to craft persuasive legal arguments. We know that facing a medical malpractice lawsuit can be enormously stressful, but that’s why law firms like ours are here to help. So, if you want to find out more about how to build your defense and what an attorney can do to help you do that, then please consider reaching out for the assistance that you need.