Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Physicians are worried about malpractice lawsuits because they pose real threats. They can increase insurance costs and can alter medical practice.

In general, doctors owe patients the obligation to adhere to accepted medical practices without any deviation or exclusion. This is called the standard of care.

To successfully to sue a doctor for negligence, the patient must be able to prove each of the following legal elements by a preponderance of the evidence: breach of duty, breach of duty; causation; damages.

Duty of Care

The primary element of a medical malpractice claim is that the victim was legally obligated by the doctor who was not fulfilled. As opposed to other types cases, medical malpractice claims often require the existence of an established relationship between the doctor and patient. This could be established through documents such as doctor's medical records and telephone consultations. Generally, physicians who treat patients must adhere to the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

Doctors may be held accountable for the negligence or incompetence of their staff, for example, assistants or interns. Furthermore, they can be held accountable for the actions of emergency medical personnel working under their supervision.

The next thing the plaintiff must prove is that the defendant did not satisfy the standard of medical care in the circumstances. This is a fact that can be demonstrated with expert testimony about acceptable medical practices and the defendant's failure to follow these standards. The second element is that the breach directly injured the patient. To prove malpractice your lawyer must to show that the defendant's breach of duty directly caused your injury or the wrongful death of a loved one. This concept is known as the proximate cause. For instance, if the alleged negligent act would not have had an adverse effect on your health, regardless of whether or not it was done or not, you aren't able to win damages for any injuries, or wrongful death that was allegedly cause by the physician's behavior.

Breach of Duty

A doctor who does not fulfill their duty of care to a client can be held accountable for negligence. To prevail in a medical malpractice claim, the patient must prove four legal elements: a duty of professional care was in place and the physician violated this obligation; the breach led to injury, and the injury was a cause of damages. The primary element of a medical malpractice claim is the standard of care that is determined by experts' testimony. The standard of care is what a "reasonably prudent" doctor would do under similar or similar circumstances.

A physician violates this duty in the event that he or she departs from standard care while treating the patient. For instance, if a physician breaks a patient's arm, the doctor does not correctly set it or fails to cast the broken arm. A breach by the doctor causes the injured arm to heal incorrectly. This can result in the loss of use, either in whole or in part of use, and monetary damages.

Medical malpractice cases are brought in state trial courts. However, under certain conditions 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 hears medical malpractice cases. A majority of states have a system of state courts that specialize in these cases, medical but with different court procedures than federal district courts.

Causation

A patient could be entitled compensation for the damages caused if medical professionals fail to perform their duty to do no harm. A medical malpractice claim may be brought up when a doctor opts to carry out a procedure that has risks and the patient would have declined the procedure if they had been fully informed of all possible consequences.

The plaintiff in a medical malpractice case must prove that the medical professional did not adhere to accepted guidelines for practice, and that the failure was the direct cause of the injury or illness that the patient suffered and that the ailment could not have occurred except because of the negligence of a physician. The burden of proof, also known as "preponderance" of evidence is less demanding than "beyond reasonable doubt" required to convict criminal defendants.

Lawsuits alleging medical malpractice often involve expert witnesses and lengthy pretrial discovery procedures. Both sides invest a significant amount of time and resources in preparing for a case, whether it's settled or goes to court. This is one of the main reasons that malpractice claims are costly for both the plaintiff and the medical professional involved, and is one of the reasons that health care professionals and physicians organizations support efforts to change tort law in the United States.

Damages

Depending on the type of medical negligence, the victims can seek compensatory or punitive damages. Compensation damages are awarded to patients for monetary losses and expenses caused by the negligence of a physician for example, loss of income or cost of future medical care. Non-economic damages include the payment of physical and mental suffering.

Medical malpractice claims are generally filed in a state trial court. There are instances when an action can be filed in federal courts. It's usually the case when a doctor is employed by a federally-funded medical clinic such as the Veteran's Administration or in the case of a doctor who is from other country, but practices in the United States as part of an extraterritorial treaty.

Lawsuits alleging medical malpractice are largely adversarial in nature and require extensive legal discovery. This includes written interrogatories, medical depositions as well as requests for documents. Victims of alleged medical malpractice also may have to endure the pressure of an open jury trial and could be in danger of having their claim dismissed by a judge, or dismissed by jurors.

To win a medical malpractice claim, you must show that the medical negligence or error caused your injury. The harm must be serious enough that a cash award would substantially make up for your financial losses as well as emotional stress. Furthermore, New York medical malpractice laws have certain damage caps as well as other limits on the amount that may be awarded to a patient who successfully makes a claim.