When filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in Illinois, you must prove causation to the court. This basically means you need to show that your injuries or damages stem from a medical practitioner’s actions. Here’s how.
Show that a doctor-patient relationship exists
A medical malpractice claim is only viable in Illinois if the doctor or the hospital you are filing against owes you a duty of care. This happens when the doctor or the hospital agrees to take care of you. For example, if you are dining in a restaurant and get a heart attack during the course of your meal, if a doctor present in the same location decides to do nothing, they won’t owe you anything. However, if they come up to you and do anything to assist, they would have created a doctor-patient relationship through that action. You can also prove the doctor-patient relationship using medical records or other relevant documentation.
Prove breach of the standard of care
Standard of care is the level of care that a reasonable and prudent health care provider would have provided under similar circumstances. In other words, they are the basic things that your doctor would have done to help you out of your situation. You can prove this by obtaining expert testimony from another medical professional who can attest that your doctor’s actions fell below the acceptable level of care.
Show a link between the breach and the injuries sustained
You will need to prove to the court that your doctor’s actions directly led to your injuries. For example, if you underwent surgery and suffered complications, you would need to show that the surgeon’s negligence directly led to your complications.
If you were injured due to a doctor’s or hospital’s negligence, file a lawsuit within two years from the date it occurred. When your lawsuit includes the above elements, you have a better chance of proving your claim.
