Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Malpractice lawsuits pose a real and significant threat to doctors. They can increase insurance costs for doctors and also alter medical practice.

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

To sue a doctor for malpractice, the patient must prove the following elements with a preponderance: duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages.

Duty of Care

The first element in a medical malpractice case is that the injured person was owed a duty by a doctor which was not fulfilled. In contrast to other types of negligence cases Medical malpractice claims typically require the existence of the relationship between a doctor and patient, which could be established through documents like medical records and phone consultations. In general, doctors who treat their patients must adhere to the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

However, doctors could also be held accountable for the actions of their staff members, like assistants or interns. In addition, they could be held accountable for the actions of emergency medical personnel under their supervision.

The next thing a plaintiff needs to establish is that the defendant did not meet the standard of care in the specific circumstances. This element can only be proven with expert testimony on acceptable medical practices and the defendant's failure follow these guidelines. The second element of malpractice is that the breach directly caused injury to the patient. To prove this your lawyer must establish a direct cause and effect between the defendant's dereliction of duty and your injury or your loved one's wrongful death. This concept is known as proximate causation. If, for instance the alleged negligent act could not have had any negative impact on your health, regardless of whether or not it was performed by a physician, you will not be able win damages for any injuries, or even wrongful death, that you believe was caused by the doctor's actions.

Breach of Duty

A doctor who fails meet his or her obligation of professional care to a patient can be held accountable for negligent behavior. To win a medical malpractice suit the plaintiff must prove four things: that there was a duty of care and the doctor breached the duty and the breach caused injuries, and then the injury resulted in damages. The first part of a medical malpractice lawsuit (Http://www.huenhue.net) is the standard of care which is determined by experts' testimony. The standard of care is what a "reasonably cautious" doctor would do in similar or identical circumstances.

The physician's violation of this obligation occurs when he deviates from the standard of care when providing treatment to the patient. If a doctor fractures the arm of a patient, he or she may fail to cast the patient correctly. The physician's failure to perform this duty causes the broken arm to heal incorrectly, resulting in the complete or partial loss of use and subsequent financial damages.

In the majority of instances, medical malpractice lawsuits are filed in state trial courts. However in certain circumstances, federal courts can also hear these claims. Each of the 94 federal district courts in the United States has a judge-jury panel that hears medical malpractice cases. A majority of states have a system of state courts that are specialized to handle these cases, though they follow different rules of court procedure than federal district courts.

Causation

Doctors swear to protect their patients and when they fail to fulfill this duty and cause harm, a patient may be entitled to compensation for the damages. A medical malpractice lawsuit could be brought up when a doctor opts to carry out a procedure that is associated with risks and the patient would not have opted out of the procedure if fully informed of the potential consequences.

The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit must prove that the physician failed to adhere to accepted standards of practice, that this failure was the primary cause of the illness or injury the patient was suffering from, and that the injury could not have occurred except because of the negligence of a physician. This burden of proof, referred to as "preponderance" of the evidence, is less burdensome than "beyond reasonable doubt" which is needed to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits typically involve expert witnesses and lengthy pretrial discovery procedures. Both parties invest a lot of time and money making preparations for a case whether it settles or goes to court. This is why malpractice cases are costly for both the physician and the plaintiff involved. It is one of the primary reasons why doctors and health organizations are in favor of efforts to reform tort laws in the United States.

Damages

Victims may be awarded punitive or compensatory damages depending on the nature of medical negligence. Compensation damages compensate victims for monetary losses and expenses caused by the physician's negligence for example, loss of income or costs of future medical care. Non-economic damages could include compensation for Medical malpractice lawsuit mental and physical anguish.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are filed in state trial courts. There are certain situations in which a lawsuit can be filed in federal courts. It is usually the case when doctors are employed by a federally funded clinic such as the Veterans Administration, or when the doctor is a resident of another country but practices in the United States as part of a treaty with extraterritorial authority.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually adversarial and involve large amounts of legal discovery. This includes depositions, written interrogatories and requests for production of documents. Patients who are accused of medical malpractice might also have to deal with the pressure of a jury trial and potentially be in danger of being denied their claim by a judge or rejected by jurors.

To be successful in a medical malpractice claim, you must show that the error or negligence of a medical professional caused your injury. The injury must be severe enough to warrant a monetary payment that will compensate you for your financial losses as well as emotional stress. New York medical malpractice law also has damages caps, as well as other limits to the amount that a patient can receive after proving an claim.