Four Elements of a sweetwater medical malpractice law firm, vimeo.com, Malpractice Case

Physicians fear malpractice lawsuits as real threats. They can raise insurance costs for doctors and alter medical practice.

In general, doctors have obligations to their patients to follow accepted medical practices. This is referred to as the standard of care.

To successfully sue a doctor for malpractice, an aggrieved patient must prove each of the following legal elements with a preponderance of the evidence: duty; breach of obligation; causation; damages.

Duty of Care

The primary element in a yuba city medical malpractice lawsuit malpractice case is that the injured person was owed a doctor's duty which was not fulfilled. Unlike some types of negligence cases, medical malpractice claims often require the existence of a relationship between doctor and patient. This could be established through documents like a doctor's records and telephone consultations. In general, doctors who treat their patients must adhere to the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

However, doctors could also be liable for the negligence of their staff members, such as assistants or interns. In addition, they could be held liable for the actions of emergency white oak medical malpractice lawyer personnel working under their supervision.

The plaintiff then has to demonstrate that the defendant's actions didn't comply with the standard of care under the circumstances. This can only be proven by expert testimony regarding acceptable medical practices and the defendant's reluctance to follow these standards. The second factor is that the breach directly harmed the patient. To prove this your lawyer must demonstrate a direct cause and effect between the defendant's dereliction of duty and your injury or loved one's wrongful death. This is called proximate cause. For example, if the negligence alleged by the defendant wouldn't have had a negative impact on your health, regardless of whether it was done or not, then you wouldn't be able to claim damages for any injuries or wrongful deaths that were believed to have been resulted from the negligence of the doctor.

Breach of Duty

A physician who fails in their duty of care towards the client could be held accountable for negligence. To win a medical malpractice case the victim must prove four things: that there was a duty of care, that the physician breached the duty and that the breach caused injuries, and then the injury caused damage. The first part of a medical malpractice lawsuit is the standard of care which is determined by experts' testimony. The standard of care is defined as what is what a "reasonably prudent" doctor would perform in the same or similar circumstances.

The physician's violation of this obligation occurs when he/she does not adhere to the standard of care while giving treatment to the patient. If a physician breaks the arm of a patient they might fail to cast the arm correctly. The doctor's breach of this obligation causes the broken part to heal incorrectly, resulting in partial or full loss of use and subsequent financial damages.

Medical malpractice cases are brought in state trial courts, but under limited circumstances federal courts are also able to be able to hear these cases. The 94 federal districts courts across the United States each have a judge and jury panel that handles these cases. Many states have a distinct system of state courts that handle the issues. However, they have different rules of court procedure than federal district courts.

Causation

Doctors swear to avoid harm, and should they violate this obligation and cause injury, a patient may be entitled to compensation for the damages. A medical malpractice claim may be brought up when a doctor opts to carry out a procedure which has known risks and the patient would not have opted out of the procedure if they had been fully aware of all potential consequences.

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

Medical malpractice lawsuits often involve expert witness testimony and lengthy discovery procedures prior to trial. If the case settles or goes to trial, attorneys on both sides spend considerable time and resources in preparing for the case. This is a major reason why malpractice claims can be so costly for both the plaintiff and the physician affected, and is one of the main reasons that doctors and health care organizations support efforts to change tort law in the United States.

Damages

Victims can receive damages for punitive or compensatory, based on the nature of medical malpractice. Compensation damages compensate the patient for the monetary losses or expenses caused by the negligence of the doctor. This includes loss of income and future medical costs. Non-economic damages include the compensation for physical pain and mental stress.

Medical malpractice claims are generally filed in a state trial court. There are some situations where lawsuits can be filed in federal courts. This is usually the situation when a doctor is employed by a federally-funded medical clinic such as the Veterans Administration or in the case of a doctor who is from another country but practices in the United States as part of an agreement with extraterritorial authority.

Legal actions involving medical malpractice are usually adversarial and require an extensive legal discovery. This includes depositions, written interrogatories and requests for production of documents. The victims of medical malpractice might also have to deal with the pressure of an open jury trial and could be in danger of being rejected by a judge, or dismissed by jurors.

To be successful in a medical malfeasance claim, you must show that the error or negligence of a medical professional caused your injury. The damage must be severe enough to warrant a monetary award that would cover your financial losses as well as emotional distress. New York medical malpractice law also has certain damage caps, as well as limits to the amount that the patient could receive when they are successful in bringing a claim.