Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

The legal process for defending malpractice is a complex procedure. Whether or not an error is considered to be malpractice is dependent on whether the patient is able to prove four legal elements: a professional duty; breach of this duty; injury due to the breach and quantifiable damages.

Plaintiffs must also prove the elements by using evidence like expert testimony and malpractice lawsuits depositions.

Undiagnosed or Incorrectly Diagnosed

The inability of a doctor to accurately diagnose an illness or injury could lead to grave complications, or even death. It is a typical cause of medical malpractice. To prove negligence the patient or their attorney must demonstrate that a competent doctor in similar circumstances and malpractice lawsuits in the same area would not have missed the diagnosis.

A misdiagnosis is not always malpractice. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors make mistakes, so any claim of malpractice lawyers has to be backed by other elements like breach, proximate causality and actual injury. If a doctor does not sterilize his equipment prior to administering anesthesia, and the patient develops an infection because of this, the doctor might be liable.

The majority of lawsuits involving malpractice are filed in state trial courts where the alleged error occurred. Federal courts may be able to handle the case in certain situations. For instance, a claim may be brought in federal court if it involves an issue regarding the statute of limitations or when there is a significant diversity of citizenship of the parties in the case. Certain disputes are settled via arbitration that is binding and voluntary. This is a less formal procedure which involves professionals who make the decisions. It is designed to minimize costs, expedite the legal proceedings, and eliminate the risk that comes with generous juries. Arbitration is not available in all instances of malpractice.

Wrong Drug Dosage

Medication mistakes, also referred to as medication errors, are among the most common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. These errors can be caused by a doctor who has submitted a prescription in the wrong format, or giving the patient the incorrect dosage. These errors are generally preventable. In certain circumstances the hospital or its staff, a pharmacist or other health care professionals could be held responsible for the injuries sustained by patients who were given the wrong dose of medication.

A doctor may prescribe the incorrect medication to a patient because of an incorrect diagnosis or simply because they misread the prescription. A health professional could also prescribe the wrong dosage due to an inability to communicate, such as when nurses read the handwritten prescription of a doctor incorrectly or the pharmacist makes an error in filling out the prescription. In other instances the doctor could delay the proper medication, which could lead to the patient's condition worsening.

To be successful in a malpractice case, a victim must establish that the medical professional did not meet their standards of care and that negligence directly caused their injuries. This requires medical experts to testify. Furthermore, a medical negligence case must demonstrate the extent of the victim's injuries as well as the damages they suffered as a result of the negligence. This includes the cost of treatment for the victim as well as any lost wages. The more the loss is, the more valuable of the claim.

Wrong Procedure

This kind of incident is not unusual. It might seem impossible for medical professionals to carry out the incorrect procedure on patients but it's true. A surgeon who commits this error could be held liable for malpractice. A patient who is injured because of a surgical error may be held liable for any error that occurred during the procedure.

Any health care professional who is accused of negligence must show that the patient was harmed by a specific act or failure to act. To establish this, the patient's legal team must prove that (1) the doctor was in an obligation to provide treatment or treatment; (2) that the doctor breached the duty of care; (3) that there is a direct causal connection between the breach and the injury; and (4) that the injury results in damages that the legal system can deal with.

A breach of duty of care is no meaning unless it result in injury. This is the reason why medical malpractice law firm cases are typically dependent on the lawful doctrine "res ipsa locquitur" which says that certain injuries are so obvious that they can only be explained through negligence.

Depending on the circumstances of the case, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally appointed representative) or their attorney may bring the case in federal or state court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state court. However, under certain circumstances medical malpractice lawsuits can be brought in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

Wrong-site surgery is a rare error, but it may be considered medical malpractice when the procedure is performed on the wrong side of the body. This kind of error is often caused by miscommunications between the surgical team, or production pressures that result in surgeons being assigned multiple surgeries at once. In these cases the surgeon isn't the only one with responsibility for an incorrect-site procedure since there is the legal principle known as "res ipsa loquitur" which means that the consequence of the error is evident and cannot be attributed to negligence.

If an individual is injured in a wrong-site procedure it is possible that the patient will require additional procedures to fix issues that were caused by the mistake. This can result in high medical expenses for patients and their families. It is important to consider these costs when calculating the financial impact of medical malpractice claims.

Surgeons are most often accountable for surgical errors as they are the ones who are responsible for properly prepping for the operation as well as double-checking the patient's charts 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, a hospital or anesthesiologist may also be held responsible. Medical malpractice cases are typically filed in state courts, however, under certain circumstances, they can be transferred to federal court.