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Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

Malpractice litigation involves a complex process. If an error is malpractice based on whether the patient is able to prove four legal elements: a professional duty and breach of this duty; harm resulted from the breach and tangible damages.

Plaintiffs must prove these elements by presenting evidence like expert testimony, depositions, and discovery.

Misdiagnosis and Failure to Diagnose

Failure to identify an illness or injury accurately could lead to serious complications, or even death. A large number of medical malpractice cases involve misdiagnosis. To prove negligence, the patient or their attorney must show that a competent doctor in similar circumstances and working in the same field would not have misdiagnosed the condition.

A misdiagnosis is not always negligence. Even the most experienced and highly trained doctors make mistakes, therefore an allegation of malpractice needs to be backed by other elements like breach, proximate causality and actual injury. If a doctor does not sterilize his equipment prior to giving anesthesia and the patient is infected due to this, the doctor might be guilty.

In most cases, lawsuits alleging malpractice will be filed in the state trial court where the malpractice was alleged to have occurred. However, federal courts could have jurisdiction in certain situations. For instance, a claim could be filed in federal court if there is disputes over the statute of limitations or when there is a substantial diversity of citizenship of the parties in the case. Some claims can be resolved through binding arbitration that is voluntary. This is a less formal procedure that involves professionals who make the decisions. It is designed to reduce costs, expedite legal proceedings and remove the risk of overly generous juries. Arbitration is not always available in cases of misconduct.

Wrong Drug Dosage

Medication mistakes, also referred to as medication errors, are one of the most frequent causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. These errors could be caused by a physician who writes a prescription in the wrong format, or giving the patient the wrong dosage. These errors are usually avoidable. In certain circumstances, a hospital or its staff, a pharmacist or other health care professionals could be held accountable for the injuries sustained by the patient who received the wrong dosage of medication.

A doctor might prescribe the incorrect medication to a patient as a result of an inaccurate diagnosis or simply due to a misreading of the prescription. A health professional could also give the wrong dosage because of a glitch in communication. For example, a nurse may take a doctor's prescription and read it incorrectly or a pharmacist might have a mistake while filling the prescription. In other cases, the physician may delay the administration of the correct medication, which could cause the patient's illness to worsening.

A victim must prove, for the sake of winning a malpractice claim, that the medical professional violated their standard of practice and that their injuries were directly caused by the negligence. This requires medical expert testimony. Furthermore, a medical negligence case must establish the severity of a victim's injuries and the damages they suffered as a result of the negligence. This includes the costs of treatment for the victim as well as any lost wages. The greater person's losses are in the greater value of the claim will be.

The wrong procedure

It's not likely that medical professionals would perform the wrong procedure on a patient however, this kind of thing is quite common. The surgeon who makes this error could be held accountable for negligence. However the patient who is injured due to a surgical error could also be held responsible for any negligence that occurred during the process.

A health care professional who is accused of malpractice has to prove that a patient was injured by the specific act or inability to take action. To prove this, the legal team of the patient must show: (1) that the doctor had a responsibility to care for or treat the patient; (2) that he failed to fulfill his obligation; (3) that a causal link exists between the negligence and injury; and (4) the injury results in damages the legal system could address.

A breach of duty of care has no meaning unless it results in injury. This is why medical malpractice cases are usually based on the legal doctrine "res ipsa locquitur," which says that certain injuries are so obvious that they can only be explained by negligence.

Based on the facts of the case, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally appointed representative) or their attorney can bring the case in federal or state court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed with state courts, but in certain situations the case of medical negligence can be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

The procedure that is performed on the wrong site is not common, but can be considered medical malpractice lawsuit when the procedure is done in the wrong part of your body. This kind of error is usually due to miscommunication between members of a surgical team, or production pressure that leads to the surgeon being tasked with multiple surgeries at one time. In these instances, the surgeon is not alone in his or her responsibility for a surgical error that is not performed correctly because there is the legal principle known as "res ipsa loquitur" which means that the outcome of the error speaks for itself and cannot be attributed to negligence.

If an individual is injured in an operation that was performed on the wrong site and is injured, they may require additional procedures to fix problems that were aggravated by the error. This could result in expensive medical expenses for patients and their families. These expenses should be taken into consideration when calculating the financial consequences of medical malpractice law firms lawsuits.

Surgeons are often accountable for surgical errors because they are the individuals who are responsible for properly getting ready for the procedure, double-checking the patient's chart and medical records, coordinating effectively with other members of the medical team and making sure that the incision has been made on the correct site. In some instances, an anesthesiologist or a hospital could be held accountable. Medical malpractice cases are typically filed in state courts, but in certain situations they may be transferred to federal court.