Key Health Considerations in Wrongful Death Legal Proceedings

https://images.pexels.com/photos/6841362/pexels-photo-6841362.jpeg

No one will ever contest the statement that wrongful death is one of the most challenging situations that a family may have to face.

The legal aspects of the case are tricky enough as it is. However, when health issues become a factor in the case, the complexity levels go through the roof. This makes it very important to be aware of all health concerns that may come into play when dealing with wrongful death.

What you’ll discover:

• Health evidence
• Types of health-related wrongful deaths
• Medical records and expert witnesses
• Pre-existing conditions

Here’s a little breakdown of some of the essentials for handling a wrongful death situation.

Health Concerns for Wrongful Death Cases

Legal actions dealing with the topic of wrongful death always have the components of health as their base.

This is just the way it is. Whenever a family is getting ready for selecting a wrongful death lawyer in Little Rock, they need to make sure that the legal professional that they select is going to be aware of all the health documentation that is going to be relevant for the case.

The following considerations are what are going to play the largest part in the presentation of a health-related wrongful death:

Health evidence matters

In the end, when a wrongful death case is not going to be successful and will not result in compensation, it is most often due to the fact that there was not the right medical documentation. There will also have to be an expert witness that is testifying to what the documentation proves. The two, together, play a crucial part in the presentation of any wrongful death case.

Numbers

Statistics from Johns Hopkins University reveal that approximately 250,000 deaths in the United States each year have something to do with medical errors.

This is an amount that makes medical errors the third most common cause of death in the United States. This goes directly behind heart disease and cancer.

This information means that the causes of death that are directly related to health are much more common than most people will think. However, in order to prove them in court, there is going to have to be very specific medical information and testimony.

The Types of Health-Related Wrongful Deaths

The types of wrongful deaths that involve malpractice in a medical setting are not the only categories that exist. In fact, health factors can play a role in many, many different categories. Some of the most common of these include the following.

• Medical malpractice
• Nursing home neglect
• Workplace accidents
• Product liability
• Vehicle accidents

Each of the aforementioned can mean a medical-related wrongful death. Each type will also have to have its own unique and specific health evidence that can be presented for a successful wrongful death case. For example, in a medical malpractice case, it is going to be necessary to provide expert testimony. This is going to show that the health care professional deviated in one way or another from the normal course of treatment.

For a workplace accident case, it will be necessary to have documentation that will show that the employer of the victim was not providing safety equipment.

The Medical Records and the Expert Witnesses

The medical records that will exist for a patient that passes on are the backbone of a wrongful death case.

These records have to exist, as they are the story of the case that is going to be told in court. They are the story of what has happened.

What information is the most important here? This would be the fact that complete medical records should include a series of components, such as the admission notes of the hospital, laboratory work, imaging studies, physician notes, nursing assessment, and also discharge summaries. When there is something that is missing or incomplete, then the case can be very much negatively affected.

The expert witnesses that will be present for the medical cases will take the medical records that will be present and turn them into something for the court.

The experts that are in the medical field will be able to explain in much simpler terms the nature of the health conditions that were involved for the victim. In addition to this, they are also going to be able to testify whether or not the level of care that is known as the standard of care, was met in the case.

Statistics from the National Center for Biotechnology Information show that there are around 400,000 patients each year that are hospitalized and who are experiencing harm that could have been avoided.

The statistics and the sources such as this can be explained by the witnesses who are expert in this field in order to be brought into the case. It is their job to show the connections and how the negligence of one individual led to the death that could have been avoided.

Pre-existing Health Conditions and How They Affect Claims

The issue of pre-existing health conditions is something that can be known to bring a negative effect to wrongful death cases.

The ones that are on the defense are going to often try to use these conditions and this as a way to place blame on the health of the individual instead of the actions of negligence on the part of the defense.

It is what is known as the “eggshell plaintiff” defense, which is known as placing the blame where it does not belong in many cases.

What does the truth here show? This is that legally, the ones that are on defense are required to accept the individuals and take them as they are. This means that if the victim of the case had a condition that had to do with their heart and then they were passed away due to the fact that of being hit by the individual who was negligent in this case, then the individual who was negligent is still to blame.

The fact that a person who was healthier might not have passed away is not the same thing as excusing the act that was negligent in nature.

The proof for this information in the court is going to be required to be shown through medical documentation. It is the medical professionals and the attorneys in the case that are going to have to show what the baseline health condition of the victim was and how the act on the part of the one who was negligent changed the situation with the health of the victim.

How to Calculate Health-Related Damages

Damages that occur as a result of wrongful death are often known to have components of health issues that are present.

Some of the most important damages that will be sought in a wrongful death claim are most often ones that will include the medical issues that are related to it.

It is common for the families that are left behind to be able to recover in one form or another compensation for things that are health-related. Some of these include expenses for the medical treatment that was received before death, the costs that were for burial and funeral, loss of what the future earnings might have been for the deceased, and also the fact that there was a loss of companionship, and then there was also pain and suffering that was involved that the victim was experiencing.

Some of the key factors here that have to be taken into account when it comes to health costs are the fact that there are medical expenses that come about due to treatment that occurs in an emergency situation, hospitalization, and end-of-life care.

In addition to this, there can be significant calculations of future earnings, which have to be made when it comes to the overall health of the individual that passed away.

The right lawyer for wrongful death can do a lot of good in these types of cases. As long as the medical documentation is present, the proper expert witnesses can be found.