"Ask Me Anything": Ten Answers To Your Questions About Medical Malpractice Litigation

Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Malpractice lawsuits pose a real and serious threat to doctors. They drive up physician insurance costs and could alter the medical practice.

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

To successfully to sue a doctor for malpractice, an aggrieved patient must prove each of the following legal elements using the preponderance evidence: breach of duty; breach of that obligation; causation; damages.

Duty of Care

The first thing to consider in a medical malpractice case is that the person injured was owed a duty by a doctor that was breached. Medical malpractice cases differ from other negligence claims in that they typically involve a patient-physician relationship that can be established by documents from a doctor or phone consultations. Generally, physicians who treat patients must follow the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

Doctors could be held accountable for the incompetence or negligence of their staff members, such as interns or assistants. Additionally, they can be held liable for the actions of emergency medical personnel under their supervision.

The plaintiff has to demonstrate that the defendant's conduct did not comply with the standard of care under the circumstances. This element can be proven by expert testimony regarding acceptable medical procedures and the defendant's failure to comply with these guidelines. The second factor is that the breach directly hurts the patient. To prove this your lawyer must establish that there is a direct link and causal relationship between the defendant's failure to perform his duty and your injury or loved one's wrongful death. This concept is known as the proximate cause. If, for instance, the negligent treatment you claim to have received was not able to have a negative effect on your health, regardless of whether or not it was done by a physician, you will not be able be awarded damages for any injuries, or even wrongful death, that were allegedly cause by the physician's behavior.

Breach of Duty

A doctor who fails to fulfill his or her duty of professional care to a patient could be held accountable for negligence. In order to win a medical malpractice case, the victim must prove four legal elements: a duty of professional care existed and the doctor breached this duty; the breach caused injury, and the injury was a cause of damages. The primary element of a medical malpractice case is the standard of care that is determined by expert testimony. The standard of care is defined as the things that is what a "reasonably prudent" doctor would do in similar circumstances.

A physician is in breach of this duty in the event that he or she departs from standard care while treating the patient. For example, if the physician breaks the arm of a patient the doctor is not able to properly set the arm or fails to cast the broken arm. A doctor's breach causes the broken arm heal incorrectly. This could lead to either a complete or partial loss of use, as well as financial damages.

In most instances, medical malpractice cases are filed with state trial courts. However under certain circumstances federal courts are also able to be able to hear these cases. Each of the 94 federal district courts in the United States has a judge-jury panel that is able to hear medical malpractice cases. The majority of states have a system of state courts that are specialized to handle these cases, but with different rules for court procedure than federal district courts.

Causation

A patient may be entitled compensation for any damages suffered by doctors fail to fulfill their obligation to avoid harm. medical malpractice law firms malpractice claims could also arise if the doctor performs a treatment with known risks, and the patient wouldn't have consented to the procedure if they had been fully informed.

In a medical malpractice case the plaintiff must demonstrate that the doctor did not act in accordance with accepted standards of practice. This negligence must have been the primary cause of any illness or injury sustained by the patient and the ailment would never be the case if it wasn't because of the doctor's negligence. The burden of proof, known as "preponderance" of the evidence is less arduous than "beyond reasonable doubt" required to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits often involve expert testimony from witnesses and lengthy discovery procedures prior to trial. If the case settles or goes to trial, Medical Malpractice law firms the attorneys on both sides spend considerable time and resources in preparing for the issue. This is the reason why malpractice claims are costly for both the physician and the plaintiff involved. It is one of the primary reasons that doctors and health care organizations support efforts to change tort laws in the United States.

Damages

Victims can be awarded compensatory or punitive damages, based on the nature of medical malpractice. Compensation damages compensate the patient for the financial losses or costs resulting from the negligence of the doctor. This includes loss of income and future medical costs. Non-economic damages include reimbursement for physical and mental anxiety.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually filed in a state trial court. However, medical malpractice law firms there are situations where a suit could be filed in federal court. This is usually the situation when a doctor is employed by a federally-funded medical malpractice lawsuit clinic, like the Veteran's administration, or when the doctor is a resident of another country but is practicing in the United States as part of an agreement with extraterritorial authority.

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

You must establish that medical negligence or mistake caused your injury to be able to make a case for medical negligence. The injury must be serious enough to warrant a financial award that would cover your financial losses as well as emotional stress. New York medical malpractice law also has damages caps, as well as other limits on the amount the patient could receive after proving claims.