If your doctor or other medical care provider made mistakes in treating your medical condition and caused you to suffer injuries, you may be entitled to compensation. However, medical malpractice claims are very complicated. If you want to obtain the full value of your claim in your settlement with the insurance company, you need to know what you need to prove in order to win your case.
What Is Medical Malpractice in New Mexico?
The fact that your medical condition does not improve or that your disease was not cured does not mean that your doctor made a mistake in treating you. However, if a nurse, physician, or other health care provider made errors or failed to exercise the proper standard of care, you may have a medical malpractice claim against them.
Common Ways That Medical Malpractice Is Committed
- Failing to diagnose a medical condition properly
- Failing to provide the proper treatment
- Performing unnecessary surgery
- Performing the wrong medical procedure
- Misreading or failing to read diagnostic test results
- Making a surgical error
- Failing to order the proper tests or to take the appropriate actions given the results
- Providing the wrong medications or the incorrect dosage
- Not adequately following up on medical treatment
- Failing to properly warn of the risks of surgery or other recommended medical treatments
To receive all the compensation you deserve for your injuries, you must prove all the elements of a malpractice case under New Mexico law.
What You Need to Prove to Win a Medical Malpractice Case
- Provider-patient relationship. You must prove that your physician or other medical care provider had a doctor-patient or other provider-patient relationship with you. While this element of your case is often easy to establish, you must show that they agreed to provide medical treatment to you.
- Breach of duty. One of the most challenging elements of your case is to show that your medical care provider breached their duty of care to you. You would need to prove that they failed to meet the accepted standard of care. You would most likely need the testimony of a medical expert witness to establish this.
- Injury. The next element that must be proved is that the health care provider’s medical negligence directly caused your injuries. This can be hard to establish if you have a severe medical condition, such as cancer, that could worsen over time no matter what treatments are prescribed. You would need the help of a medical expert witness to establish the direct link between your injuries and the medical malpractice you claim occurred.
- Damages. You could suffer life-altering injuries and emotional distress if your doctor makes a grave medical mistake. If you prove your provider committed malpractice, you are entitled to compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages and lost earning capacity damages, and pain and suffering. However, you have the burden of proving the amount of compensation you should recover.
Medical Review Board Requirement for Malpractice Claims in New Mexico
Medical malpractice claims often must be litigated before they are settled. New Mexico has a special rule that the state’s Medical Review Commission must review medical malpractice claims before a lawsuit is filed. The deadline to file an application for their review is three years from the date of the medical malpractice.
Contact a Roswell Medical Malpractice Lawyer Today
Because these cases are so complicated, you need to hire an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible once you suspect that you are the victim of medical practice. An attorney can collect the evidence you need, go up against the health professional’s insurance company, and file a lawsuit if this is in your best interests—so that you receive the maximum recovery you are entitled to in your settlement. To find out how we can assist you, start a live chat, call our Roswell office at 575-300-4000, or fill out our convenient online form to schedule your free initial consultation today.
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