Medical Malpractice Litigation: The Good The Bad And The Ugly

Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Physicians fear malpractice lawsuits as an actual threat. They increase insurance costs and can affect medical malpractice attorneys practice.

In general, doctors owe patients the obligation to adhere to the accepted medical practice without deviation or the slightest omission. This is referred to as the standard of care.

To sue a doctor for negligence, the patient must be able to prove the following elements by a preponderance: duty, Medical malpractice lawsuit breach of duty, causation, and damages.

Duty of Care

The first element in a medical malpractice case is that the victim was owed a duty to a doctor that was not met. As opposed to other types cases medical malpractice claims usually require the existence of an established relationship between the doctor and patient. This can be established through things like medical records and phone consultations. In general, physicians who treat patients must adhere to the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

However, doctors may also be accountable for the wrongful actions of their staff members, such as interns or assistants. In addition, they may be held liable for the actions of emergency medical personnel working under their supervision.

The next thing a plaintiff needs to establish is that the defendant failed to satisfy the standard of medical care under the circumstances. This can be proved by expert testimony regarding acceptable medical practices and the defendant's failure to follow these standards. The second aspect is that the breach directly affected the patient. To prove this your lawyer must establish that there is a direct link and causal relationship between the defendant's dereliction of duty and your injuries or loved one's untimely death. This is referred to as proximate causation. For instance, if an negligent treatment that was alleged to have occurred wouldn't have had an adverse effect on your health irrespective of whether it was done or not, you won't be able to win damages for any injuries or wrongful deaths that were caused by the doctor's actions.

Breach of Duty

A doctor who fails fulfill their obligation of professional care to a patient could be held accountable for negligence. In order to win a medical negligence lawsuit, the injured party must establish four elements: there was a duty of medical care and the doctor breached the duty and the breach caused injury, and that the injury caused damage. The first element of a medical malpractice lawsuit is the standard of care which is determined through experts' testimony. The standard of care is defined as the things that would a "reasonably prudent" doctor would do in similar or similar circumstances.

The physician's breach of this obligation occurs when he or she is not following the standard of care when giving treatment to the patient. For instance, when a doctor breaks a patient's arm, the doctor is not able to properly set the arm or fails to cast the broken arm. The doctor's breach of this obligation causes the broken part to heal improperly, resulting in the complete or partial loss of use and monetary damages.

In most instances, medical malpractice lawsuits are filed in state trial courts. However, in certain circumstances, federal courts can also consider these claims. Each of the 94 federal district courts in the United States has a judge-jury panel that handles medical malpractice cases. The majority of states have a special system of state courts that handle these matters. However, they have different rules for court procedures than federal district courts.

Causation

Physicians take an oath to protect their patients and if they fail in their duty to uphold the oath and cause injury, the patient may be entitled to compensation for the damages. A medical malpractice lawsuit could be brought up when a doctor decides to perform a procedure that is associated with risks and the patient would not have opted out of the procedure if they had been fully informed of the potential consequences.

The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit must prove that the doctor failed to adhere to accepted guidelines for practice, Medical Malpractice Lawsuit and that this negligence was the primary cause of the injury or illness the patient suffered and that the ailment could not have occurred except because of the negligence of the doctor. The burden of proof, referred to as "preponderance" of the evidence is less arduous than "beyond reasonable doubt" required to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits typically require expert testimony and lengthy pretrial discovery proceedings. Both parties invest a lot of time and money making preparations for a case whether it's settled or if it goes to court. This is a major reason why malpractice claims are so costly to both the plaintiff and the physician involved. It is one of the main reasons that doctors and health care groups are a part of efforts to reform tort law in the United States.

Damages

Victims may be awarded damages for punitive or compensatory, based on the kind of medical negligence. Compensation damages compensate the patient for the financial losses or expenses caused by the negligence of the doctor. This includes the loss of income as well as future medical expenses. Non-economic damages are compensation for physical pain as well as mental stress.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually filed in a state trial court. However, there are instances where a lawsuit can be filed in federal court. This is usually the situation when doctors are employed by a federally-funded medical clinic, like the Veteran's administration, or in the case of a doctor who is from other country, but practices in the United States as part of an extraterritorial treaty.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are largely adversarial in nature and require an extensive legal discovery. This includes written interrogatories, depositions, as well as requests for documents. The victims of medical malpractice will also have to bear the stress of an open jury trial and could be in danger of having their claim dismissed by a judge or dismissed by a jury.

To win a medical malpractice claim, you must prove that the error or negligence of a medical professional caused your injury. The injury must be serious enough to warrant a monetary award that would cover your financial losses and emotional distress. In addition, New York medical malpractice laws have damage caps as well as other limits on the amount that can be awarded to a person who is successful in bringing a claim.