Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Physicians fear malpractice lawsuits as a real threat. They can raise insurance costs and could alter the medical practice.

In general, doctors are under an obligation to their patients to follow accepted medical practices. This is referred to as the standard of care.

To successfully bring a lawsuit against a doctor who has committed malpractice, an aggrieved patient must prove each of the following legal elements by the preponderance evidence: breach of duty, breach of obligation; causation; damages.

Duty of Care

The first element of a medical malpractice case is that the person who was injured was obliged to perform a duty by the doctor that was violated. Contrary to other types of negligence cases, medical malpractice claims often require the existence of an established relationship between the doctor and patient. This can be established by means like medical records and telephone consultations. In general, physicians who treat their patients must adhere to the accepted standards in their profession and practice.

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

The plaintiff has to show that the defendant's actions didn't adhere to the standard of medical care in the circumstances. This can be proved by expert testimony regarding acceptable medical practices and the defendant's failure to comply with these standards. The other element is that the breach directly injured the patient. To prove malpractice, your lawyer will need to prove that the defendant's breach of duty directly caused your injury or death of your loved one. This concept is known as the proximate cause. If, for example, the alleged negligent act could not have had an adverse impact on your health, irrespective of whether or not it was done or not, you aren't able to win damages for any injuries, or wrongful death, that you believe was cause by the physician's behavior.

Breach of Duty

A physician who fails to fulfill his or her duty of professional care to a patient may be held accountable for negligent behavior. To win a medical malpractice case the person who suffered must prove four elements: that a duty of care existed, that the physician breached the obligation and the breach resulted in injury and finally the injury caused damage. The first aspect of a medical malpractice lawsuit is the standard of care which is determined through experts' testimony. The standard of care is the amount an "reasonably prudent" doctor would do under similar or similar circumstances.

A physician is in breach of this duty in the event that he or she departs from the standard of care when treating the patient. For instance, when a physician breaks a patient's arm and fails to correctly set it or fails to cast the broken arm. The doctor's breach of this duty causes the injured arm to heal improperly, resulting in partial or full 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 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 will hear medical malpractice cases. The majority of states have a special system of state courts that handle these issues. However, they are subject to different rules of court procedure than federal district courts.

Causation

A patient may be entitled compensation for damages if the doctor fails to meet their obligation to prevent harm. A medical malpractice lawsuit could occur when a doctor chooses to perform a treatment that carries known risks, and the patient would not have opted out of the procedure if they had been fully informed of the possible consequences.

The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit (aragaon.net) must prove that the medical professional failed to adhere to accepted standards of practice, that the doctor's negligence was the primary cause of the injury or illness the patient suffered and that the ailment would not have happened but for the physician's negligence. The burden of proof, referred to as "preponderance" of the evidence is less demanding than "beyond reasonable doubt" that is required to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits typically require expert witnesses and lengthy pretrial discovery processes. Both sides invest a significant amount of time and resources in the preparation of a case, whether it settles or goes to court. This is one reason why malpractice claims are costly to both the plaintiff and the doctor affected, and is one of the main reasons that doctors and health care organizations support efforts to reform tort law in the United States.

Damages

Victims can receive damages for punitive or compensatory, based on the nature of medical malpractice. Compensation damages are awarded to patients for monetary losses and expenses due to the negligence of the doctor, such as loss of income or the costs of future medical care. Non-economic damages may include the payment of physical and mental suffering.

Medical malpractice claims are filed in state trial courts. There are a few instances where the lawsuit may be filed in federal courts. This is typically the case where a doctor works at a federally funded clinic such as the Veteran's Administration, or when the physician is from another country, but is working in the United States under a treaty of extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are generally adversarial and require significant legal discovery. This includes depositions, written interrogatories and requests for the production of documents. The victims of alleged medical negligence may also be required to endure a jury trial, and face the possibility that their claim will be rejected by a judge or dismissed by a juror.

You must prove that medical negligence or mistake caused your injury to win a claim for medical malpractice. The injury must be severe enough that a cash award will substantially compensate for your financial losses and emotional distress. New York medical malpractice law also has specific damage caps, as well as limits on the amount the patient could receive if they successfully make claims.