New Jersey has laws about what counts as medical malpractice. Residents may file a lawsuit if their healthcare provider has breached the standard duty of care. A key component of eligibility for damages is the plaintiff must have experienced harm from the negligence.
Types of harm
Suffering from an injury or a health condition because of a healthcare worker’s mistake could count as medical malpractice if your case meets the other legal requirements. Death could result from medical malpractice, but this involves a more serious charge of wrongful death.
Monetary-related losses are other types of damages. If you weren’t able to work because of the medical malpractice that occurred, then you could receive compensation for these financial damages. Loss of enjoyment of life and loss of companionship are also valid types of harm.
Standard of care
Not all adverse outcomes of a medical treatment are malpractice. If there is a risk of a procedure causing a certain side effect, the law protects doctors as long as there was proper informed consent. The doctor must have also executed the procedure correctly. Mistakes made during treatments could count as medical malpractice.
Missed diagnoses and delayed diagnoses are potential malpractice cases too. The law looks at whether other doctors would have reasonably caught the health condition.
Statute of limitations and time frames
Medical malpractice lawsuits in New Jersey may last up to two years or longer. If you reach a settlement before going to trial, then you could resolve it in less than a year. New Jersey allows up to two years for residents to file lawsuits. This is from the date on which your injury occurred. If you could not have reasonably known about the injury, then the clock starts ticking from when you should have discovered it.
Medical malpractice lawsuits involve an investigation into whether the doctor’s negligence was responsible for your injuries. Mistakes, misdiagnoses, delayed diagnoses, missed diagnoses and intentional acts of harm are different forms of malpractice.