If you've been injured because of a health care provider's error in Rhode Island, you might be thinking about filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. If so, it helps to get familiar with the different state laws that could affect your case.

Rhode Island hasn't passed many tort reform-style laws that put procedural hurdles in the path of a potential medical malpractice plaintiff. But a qualified medical professional must serve as an expert witness on behalf of the plaintiff in most medical malpractice lawsuits, and there are a few procedural rules that you'll need to be aware of if your medical malpractice lawsuit involves legal issues like "informed consent" and "res ipsa loquitur," which we'll explain in this article.

Expert Witnesses in Rhode Island Medical Malpractice Cases

For the majority of medical malpractice lawsuits in Rhode Island, proving that the health care provider did indeed commit negligence will require the testimony of a qualified expert witness. And the question of who can qualify as an expert witness is dictated by Rhode Island statute.

Specifically, Rhode Island General Laws 9-19-41 says that "only those persons who by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education qualify as experts in the field of the alleged malpractice shall be permitted to give expert testimony as to the alleged malpractice."

So, the judge will consider a proposed expert's background, professional qualifications, practical training, medical practice specialties, and other factors to decide whether the witness has enough experience and familiarity with the medical procedure, condition, or treatment at issue in the case to offer an "expert" opinion. If not, there's a very good chance that the proposed expert will be disqualified.

The Plaintiff's "Burden of Proof" in Medical Malpractice Cases

Rhode Island lawmakers have not spelled out the precise elements that must be established in order to hold a health care provider liable for medical malpractice, but the plaintiff has the burden of proving (convincing the jury, in other words) of the defendant health care provider's medical negligence "by a preponderance of the evidence."

That means:

• establishing the standard of care that the health care provider should have adhered to under the circumstances (usually through a medical expert, as discussed above)
• illustrating how the defendant health care provider deviated from that standard in treating the plaintiff
• showing that the care provider's negligence was a "proximate cause" of the plaintiff's injuries, and
• spelling out the scope and extent of those injuries.

Learn more about Proving Medical Malpractice.

"Informed Consent" and "Res Ipsa Loquitur"

If your Rhode Island medical malpractice lawsuit rests on one of two legal arguments, "informed consent" or "res ipsa loquitur," and your case goes to trial, the judge will serve as a sort of "gatekeeper" when it comes to the propriety of those arguments.

Informed consent involves the health care provider's "reasonable disclosure of all known material risks" to the patient under the circumstances, when it comes to a procedure or course of treatment. (Learn more about informed consent and medical malpractice.) Under Rhode Island General Laws 9-19-32, the judge in a medical malpractice lawsuit will weigh the evidence and the credibility of the different witnesses in order to consider whether "informed consent" might be a valid issue. And only if the judge decides that "reasonable minds might fairly come to different conclusions" on the matter will he or she allow the jury to consider whether to consider "informed consent."

"Res ipsa loquitur" is a Latin phrase that means, in the context of a medical malpractice lawsuit, "the medical error speaks for itself." It's a legal doctrine that creates a presumption that a health care provider made a mistake, based on the circumstances. For example, if a surgical instrument is left inside a patient after a procedure, that's something that couldn't usually occur without someone having committed negligence during the procedure. "Res ipsa loquitur" is an important concept in a medical malpractice case, because when it applies, it essentially shifts the burden of proof from the patient to the health care provider, who must now show that his or her conduct was not negligent under the circumstances.

Under Rhode Island General Laws 9-19-33, as with "informed consent," the judge in a medical malpractice lawsuit will weigh the evidence and the credibility of the different witnesses in order to consider whether the "res ipsa loquitur" might apply. And if the judge decides that "reasonable minds might fairly come to different conclusions" as to whether negligence should be inferred based on the circumstances, the judge will allow the jury to consider whether to apply "res ipsa loquitur."

Getting More Information, and Getting Help

Besides the procedural issues discussed in this article, anyone who is planning on bringing a medical malpractice case in Rhode Island needs to understand and comply with the Rhode Island statute of limitations for medical malpractice lawsuits, which is a state law that sets a filing deadline for these kinds of cases. And if you've got any questions at all about filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in Rhode Island, or your options when it comes to holding a health care provider responsible for a harmful mistake, an experienced attorney will have the answers. Learn more about Choosing the Right Medical Malpractice Lawyer.