Making Medical Malpractice Legal

Medical malpractice is a thorny legal issue. Physicians should take steps to guard against the risk of liability by purchasing medical malpractice insurance.

Patients must prove that the physician's failure to fulfill duty caused injury to them. Damages are determined by the actual economic loss such as lost income and expenses for future medical procedures, as well as non-economic losses like pain and suffering.

Duty of care

The first thing medical malpractice lawyers need to establish in a case is the duty of care. All healthcare professionals are accountable towards their patients to perform according to the standard of care that is applicable to their field. This includes doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. This includes medical students, interns and assistants working under the supervision of a physician or doctor.

A medical expert witness establishes the standard of care in the courtroom. They review the medical records and compare them with what a competent physician in the same field would be doing under similar circumstances.

If the healthcare professional's actions, or lack of action fell below the standard, they violated their duty of care and caused injury. The injured patient has to prove that the breach of duty committed by the healthcare professional directly contributed to their loss. These could include scarring, pain and other injuries. They can also include financial losses, such as medical expenses and lost wages.

For instance the case where a surgeon left a surgical instrument inside the patient following surgery, it could cause discomfort and other issues that can cause damage. A medical malpractice lawyer could prove that the surgical team's lack of duty caused the damages by relying on the testimony of an expert in medicine. This is referred to as direct causality. The patient is also required to show proof of their injuries.

Breach of duty

If a doctor medical malpractice deviates from the accepted standard of care, and this leads to an injury to the patient then a malpractice lawsuit can be filed. The victim must prove that the doctor breached their duty of care by providing care that was not up to par. The doctor must have acted negligently, and the negligence caused the patient to suffer damage.

To establish that a physician violated his duty of care, a knowledgeable attorney must present expert witness testimony to demonstrate that defendant did not possess or exercise the same level of knowledge and skill that physicians in their specialty hold. The plaintiff must also prove that there is a direct relationship between the alleged negligence, and the injuries sustained. This is referred to as causation.

A plaintiff who has been injured must also demonstrate that he or she would not have opted for an alternative treatment if informed. This is also known as the principle of informed consent. Physicians must inform their patients about the risks and complications that might arise from a certain procedure prior to performing surgery or placing the patient under anesthesia.

In order to bring a medical malpractice case, the injured patient must bring a lawsuit within a timeframe known as the statute of limitations. A court will typically reject a claim filed after the statute of limitations has expired regardless of how serious the error made by the healthcare provider or how damaging to the patient was. Certain states require that the parties to a lawsuit for medical malpractice submit their claims to an independent screening panel or arbitral binding arbitration in a voluntary manner as an alternative to trial.

Causation

Both the lawyers and physicians who are involved in the litigation need to put in a lot of time and money to prove medical malpractice. The process of proving that the treatment of a doctor was not in accordance with the accepted standard requires extensive analysis of medical records, interview with witnesses, as well as an analysis of medical literature. The law requires that lawsuits be filed within the timeframe established by the court. This deadline, also known as the statute of limitations, starts to run when a mistake in medical treatment was made or a patient discovers (or should have discovered according to the law) they were injured as a result of an error made by a doctor.

Proving causation is one the four elements that are essential to a medical malpractice claim, and probably the most difficult one to prove. A lawyer must prove that a doctor's failure to fulfill the duty of care caused injuries to a patient and that the injury could not have occurred if it weren't due to the negligence of the doctor. This is referred to as real or proximate causes and the legal requirement to prove this aspect differs from that required in criminal proceedings, in which the proof must be beyond reasonable doubt.

If a lawyer can establish these three essential factors, then the victim of malpractice could be able to receive monetary compensation from the defendant. The purpose of these monetary damages is to cover the cost of injuries, loss in quality of life and other loss.

Damages

Medical malpractice cases are often complex and require extensive expert testimony. The plaintiff's attorney must prove that a doctor did not adhere to an established standard of medical malpractice law firm treatment and that this omission caused injury, and that this injury resulted in damages. The plaintiff must also demonstrate that the injury can be measured in terms of dollar value.

Medical negligence claims can be one of the most complicated and expensive legal cases. To lower the expense of lawsuits, states have enacted tort reform measures that aim to improve efficiency, limiting frivolous claims and compensating injured parties fairly. Some of these measures include limiting the amount that plaintiffs can receive for suffering and pain; limiting the number of defendants who could be held accountable for paying an award (joint and several liability) and having arbitration, mediation or the submission of claims to a panel to be screened prior to trial; and imposing limits on damages in medical malpractice lawsuits.

Many malpractice cases also involve complicated technical issues, which are difficult to comprehend for juries and judges. Experts are vital in these cases. For instance when a surgeon makes an error medical malpractice during a procedure the patient's lawyer has to hire an orthopedic specialist to explain the reason for the mistake could not have occurred had the surgeon acted in accordance with the applicable medical guidelines of care.