When you file a medical malpractice claim or any other type of personal injury claim, you need to support your claim with evidence that shows the following:

• Another party had the duty to protect you from harm, even if that duty was to simply follow the rules of the road or refrain from behaving in a reckless manner;

• That party breached his or her duty to you by acting in a reckless or negligent manner;

• By acting in a negligent or reckless manner, you suffered a specific injury; and

• You are now facing financial damages as the result of that specific injury.

With a medical malpractice claim, your support will need to show that your doctor or other medical professional acted negligently by failing to diagnose or effectively treat your condition or by putting you at risk of a worsened condition through his or her own error, such as leaving surgical equipment inside your body after performing surgery. The evidence you use to support your claim can come from multiple sources, such as witnesses to the event, your medical record showing a worsened or stagnant condition, and testimonies from those close to you and witnesses to the malpractice, such as the nurse who worked with your physician.

An expert witness can also be a valuable source of evidence to support your claim. An expert witness is an individual whose education or professional experience enables him or her to speak about a particular topic as an expert. For example, if you are suffering an injury or illness that affects your respiratory system, a pulmonologist may be able to provide support for your claim as an expert witness. Unlike other witnesses, expert witnesses are not bound by the personal knowledge rule. In other words, they may provide testimony to support your claim despite not having been physically present to witness the accident.

Working on your Claim with an Expert Witness

Talk to your lawyer about whether working with an expert witness would benefit your claim. Although expert witnesses can provide your body of evidence with a level of depth that cannot be obtained from other sources, they also often charge high fees. In some cases, paying an expert witness’ high fee is worth the cost for the information he or she provides to help your claim reach a successful settlement. In other cases, this information is not quite as critical to your claim’s success and the cost of working with an expert witness is too high to justify making this choice.

Work with a Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer

If you have been injured as a result of a physician or other medical professional’s negligence, you could be entitled to receive monetary compensation through a medical malpractice claim. To learn more about the process of seeking compensation through such a claim, contact our team at Baizer Kolar P.C. to discuss your rights and your options regarding a personal injury claim during your free legal consultation.