To prove medical malpractice in New Mexico, you must provide evidence showing that the medical professional or facility owed you a duty of care, breached this duty, caused your injury or illness, and that you suffered damages as a result. Common evidence includes health care records, medical expert testimony and damage documentation.
Evidence to Collect for Your Medical Malpractice Case
Physicians and medical facilities in New Mexico are trusted to treat patients with proper care, skill and proficiency. When a provider falls short of this professional requirement, a patient can suffer significant physical, emotional and financial harm.
To hold a practitioner or hospital accountable for your losses as an injured patient, you need clear evidence of medical malpractice. This can include:
- Your medical records, including diagnostic test results, X-rays, and imaging scans
- Notes from nurses or physicians
- Medical billing statements or receipts
- Intake forms showing a doctor-patient relationship
- Testimony from relevant medical experts
- Statements from witnesses
- Photographs or video footage
- Documentation of actual harm caused
A key piece of evidence in most medical malpractice cases is medical expert testimony. Hiring an independent physician in the same field as the defendant to explain how your doctor failed to act appropriately can be critical for establishing medical negligence.
What Is the Burden of Proof in a Medical Malpractice Claim?
Every legal case in New Mexico comes with a burden of proof. This is the legal duty of a party involved in a dispute to prove their claim with sufficient evidence. The burden of proof varies based on whether the case is brought in the criminal or civil justice system.
In a criminal case, the burden of proof is placed on the prosecutor. In a civil case, including a medical malpractice lawsuit, the burden of proof belongs to the plaintiff, or the injured party who filed the claim.
The burden of proof that must be met to win a medical malpractice claim is a “preponderance of the evidence.” This means the claim being made by the plaintiff is more likely to be true than not, or true with a certainty of at least 51 percent.
Elements Required for a Medical Malpractice Case
Four main legal elements must be demonstrated as most likely to be true to hold a health care provider liable or legally responsible for medical malpractice in New Mexico:
- Professional duty of care. A doctor-patient relationship existed between you (the plaintiff) and the health care provider (the defendant), which imposed a high standard of care.
- Breach of duty. The doctor or health care provider in question failed to act according to the standards of the medical industry; in other words, the defendant did not act in the manner that a reasonably prudent physician would have in the same or similar circumstances.
- Damages. The plaintiff suffered real and specific damages or losses, such as physical injuries, serious infections or illnesses, an exacerbated condition, a worsened health prognosis, or wrongful death.
- Causation. The defendant’s professional negligence directly caused the plaintiff’s injury or harm. There must be evidence demonstrating that the patient’s damages would not exist were it not for the malpractice.
Meeting your evidentiary burden of proof can be difficult during a medical malpractice claim in New Mexico. If you wish to build the strongest claim possible without taking on the stress of the legal process, contact us today at the Fine Law Firm. Our Albuquerque injury lawyers have spent more than 50 years navigating, negotiating and litigating medical malpractice claims for our clients.