Doctors are responsible for the health and well-being of their patients. Hence, any blunder on the doctor's part could prove costly for the patient.

Any injury caused to a patient as a direct result of the neglect or incompetence on the doctor's part is termed medical malpractice. Instances of medical malpractice are seen whenever a patient - without justification - suffers prolonged or increased suffering, either because of a delay in diagnosis or because of a faulty diagnosis or treatment. In serious cases, this can even lead to lifelong debility or death of the patient.

If you are a victim of medical malpractice, you have put up with preventable pain because of your doctor's fault. You are thus entitled to claim compensation to make up for your suffering. Remember, however, that to be able to do so, you will have to prove that your doctor was at fault.

This is a four-step guide to help you file a winning medical malpractice claim:

Step 1: Determine whether the doctor was at fault. The only way to do this is to thoroughly research the information available on your specific medical condition. Remember, you are dealing with a subject that your doctor knows more about than you do. To prove that he is guilty you will need to:

• Speak to specialists

• Refer to medical literature

• Talk to other patients with a similar condition

Step 2: Find out if you have a valid claim. This is not necessarily the same as the above. For a claim to be valid, you should have suffered a reasonable amount of distress. What's more, you should be in a position to prove that your distress was caused due to your doctor's mistake. An inconsequential delay, for instance, that caused you slight inconvenience, will not constitute a valid claim.

Step 3: Collect incriminating evidence. In a medical malpractice case, evidence will generally consist of your medical reports along with records of all the treatment prescribed by your doctor.

Step 4: Hire a lawyer. A competent lawyer will help you to handle complicated legal formalities and, if it comes to that, to fight your case in court.