Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Malpractice lawsuits are a serious and feared threat for physicians. They can raise insurance costs for physicians and change medical practice.

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

To successfully bring a lawsuit against a doctor who has committed malpractice, the patient must demonstrate each of the following legal elements using a preponderance of the evidence: breach of duty, causation, and damages.

Duty of Care

The primary element in a medical malpractice case is that the person who was injured was owed a doctor's duty that was breached. Medical malpractice cases differ from other types of negligence cases because they often involve a physician-patient relation, which can be established through documents from a doctor or phone consultations. In general, physicians who treat their patients must adhere to the accepted standards in their profession and practice.

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

The plaintiff has to prove that the defendant's conduct did not adhere to the standard of medical care in the circumstances. This can be established through expert testimony on acceptable medical practices and the defendant's failure to comply with these guidelines. The other element is that the breach directly injured the patient. To prove this your lawyer must prove an immediate cause and effect between the defendant's breach of duty and your injury or your loved one's untimely death. This is referred to as proximate cause. For example, if the alleged negligent treatment wouldn't have had an adverse effect on your health regardless whether it was executed or not, you won't be able to recover damages for any injuries or deaths that were believed to have been caused by the physician's conduct.

Breach of Duty

A doctor who fails to meet his or her obligation of professional care to a patient could be held accountable for negligence. In order to win a medical negligence lawsuit the plaintiff must prove four things: that there was a duty of care and the doctor breached the obligation, that the breach caused injury, and finally caused damages. The standard of care is the most important aspect in a medical malpractice case, and it's established by expert testimony. The standard of care is the amount a "reasonably prudent" doctor would do under similar or identical circumstances.

A physician breaches this duty when he or she strays from the norm of care while treating the patient. For instance, if 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 lapse in duty causes the injured arm to heal improperly, resulting in the complete or partial loss of use and subsequent monetary damages.

In the majority of instances, medical malpractice cases are filed with state trial courts. However, in certain circumstances federal courts can hear these claims. Each of the 94 federal district courts in the United States has a judge-jury panel that hears wauconda medical malpractice law firm malpractice cases. Many states have a distinct system of state courts that handle these matters. However, they are subject to different rules for court procedures than federal district courts.

Causation

A patient could be entitled compensation for any damages suffered by a physician fails to fulfill their obligation to prevent harm. A medical malpractice lawsuit could occur when a doctor opts to carry out a procedure which has known risks and the patient could have refused the procedure had they been fully informed of all possible consequences.

The plaintiff in a Scottsburg medical malpractice lawsuit malpractice lawsuit must prove that the doctor failed to adhere to accepted guidelines for practice, and that this negligence was a direct cause for the injury or illness that the patient was suffering from, and that the injury could not have occurred if it weren't because of the negligence of a physician. This burden of proof, referred to as "preponderance" of the evidence, is less arduous than "beyond reasonable doubt" that is required to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits typically require expert witness testimony and long discovery procedures prior to trial. In the event that the case settles or goes to trial, the attorneys from both sides spend significant time and resources preparing for the trial. This is the reason why malpractice claims can be expensive for both the physician and the plaintiff involved. It is one of the primary reasons that doctors and health care groups support efforts to change tort laws in the United States.

Damages

In the event of medical negligence, the victims are able to seek punitive and compensatory damages. Compensation damages compensate victims for financial losses and expenses due to the negligence of the doctor, such as loss of income or cost of future medical care. Non-economic damages include the compensation for physical pain and mental distress.

Medical malpractice claims are filed in state trial courts. However, there are instances where a lawsuit can be filed in federal court. This is typically the situation where a physician is employed by an institution that is funded by federal funds like the Veteran's Administration, or if the doctor is from another country and is practicing in the United States under a treaty of extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Lawsuits alleging medical malpractice are mostly adversarial and require an extensive legal discovery. This can include written interrogatories and depositions, as well as requests for documents. The victims of alleged medical negligence may also have to endure a jury trial, and face the possibility that their claim will be rejected by a judge, or dismissed by a juror.

You must prove that medical negligence or mistake caused your injury to win an action for medical malpractice. The harm must be serious enough that a cash award will significantly compensate for your financial losses as well as emotional distress. In addition, New York medical malpractice laws provide for damage caps and other limits on the amount that may be awarded to a person who is successful in filing a claim.