Introduction
Personal injury cases involve complex matters such as the calculation of general damages that correspond to the pain and suffering of the claimant, as well as the calculation of special damages including medical expenses and lost salaries, and potentially the future loss of earnings due to permanent disability and/or deducted ability to work. More importantly, personal injury claims, and especially claims concerning medical negligence require the establishment of the principle of Causation, according to which the injury/loss suffered by the claimant has to be a direct result of the negligent act occurred. This article portraits the significance of medical experts reports in medical negligence claims, and generally in claims relating to personal injury.
Gathering medical records
One of the initial actions that have to take place when dealing with personal injury claims is to gather any documentation regarding the injury/incident, and this of course implies collecting all the relevant medical records. The medical records may include medical notes, results of blood work and examinations such as x-rays and CT scans. Furthermore, the medical records might include medical reports given by the doctor to the patient that present the claimant’s injuries and may provide useful information about their time of hospitalization. These reports are significant for us to understand better the claimant’s injuries and the treatment they have received. However, these reports on their own may not be adequate to establish a good case for the claimant and it might be rather necessary to secure a more advanced medical expert’s report. The following paragraphs seek to explain why a medical expert’s report is essential in such cases.
Providing a complete image of the injuries suffered and the treatment that took place
A medical expert will study all the medical records of the claimant based on which they will be able to create an advanced report to portrait the claimant’s medical history with detail and accuracy. Especially in cases where the claimant has stayed for a long time in hospital and/or clinics, they have suffered multiple injuries, and have been examined and treated by a variety of medical staff, each of those have provided the patient with different medical reports, an advanced medical expert’s report is vital to picture the claimant’s medical situation. This advanced medical report will bring the pieces together and present the history of claimant’s hospitalization/treatment history in a clear and consistent manner. Furthermore, the medical expert report will secure that the details surrounding the claimant’s condition/disease/injury are written in a way that will be understandable by the Court in case of an action in Court.
Evaluating claimant’s current medical situation and providing Prognosis
The medical expert will evaluate the current medical state of the claimant and will also bring light to the claimant’s possible future medical state, that is referred to as ‘prognosis’. This is a particularly significant aspect of this report, as it enables us to calculate and support claimant’s damages. We will take into consideration the medical expert’s evaluation of injuries to claim general damages that will reflect the severity of those injuries and the damage caused to the claimant as a result, and based on prognosis, we might be able to claim future loss of earnings.
Establishing Causation
It needs to be emphasized that a negligent act on its own is not enough for a medical negligence case to be established. There must be direct connection between this act/omission and the injuries and losses that have been suffered by the claimant; or in other words the negligent act must have caused the claimant’s injuries. This is the principle of causation and a medical expert’s report is necessary to showcase this. Our Cyprus law firm seeks to provide the claimant with a medical expert to support their case. Our network of medical experts includes medical professionals internationally.
Our Legal Services
Our Cyprus law firm has managed successfully a variety of personal injury and medical negligence cases and has achieved an out of court settlement on most occasions. We examine each case based on its own special circumstances, and we ensure that our client’s rights are protected and promoted during negotiations for an out of court settlement and if necessary, through the Court.
