Medical Malpractice Law

Medical mistakes can occur even with the most thorough training or a pledge to not causing harm to others. When medical errors are made the consequences for patients could be devastating.

Malpractice law is an area of tort law which deals specifically with professional negligence. A malpractice case must meet four basic requirements:

In the United States, malpractice claims are typically filed in state trial courts. To collect evidence, a variety of legal tools are employed, including depositions taken under oath.

Duty of care

A doctor is bound by the duty of care if there is a patient-doctor relationship. This is no matter if the doctor sees you in a hospital, or at your home. However, there are instances where doctors are at risk of malpractice even without the existence of a patient-doctor relationship.

Anyone who is under a duty to care must act in a way that reasonable people would act in the same situation. For example, a driver is obliged to be cautious when driving and not cause injury to other motorists on the road. If the driver does not adhere to this obligation and results in an accident, they could be held responsible for any injuries resulting from the accident.

Doctors are bound to care for their patients at all times. This is even when a doctor is not your doctor, such as when asking a doctor to give you advice in an elevator or at in a restaurant. Good Samaritan laws often limit the duty to be a good Samaritan.

Medical professionals are also bound by a duty of care to inform their patients of the risks involved in certain procedures and treatments. A failure to do so is a violation of the duty of care of a doctor. A doctor can also breach their duty of care when they give you medication that is known to interact with other medications that you are taking.

Breach of duty

In general, doctors have the obligation of providing medical care that meets the standards of practice that are accepted. This standard is established by the laws of today and by standards established by medical associations. When a doctor does not comply with this duty they are acting negligently. A malpractice lawyer will review the evidence and determine whether there was a breach of the standard of care.

A doctor could violate their duty of care in a number of ways. It's not just about whether the doctor did something reasonable people would not do in the same circumstances as well as things they should have done or did not do. In most cases, it requires expert witness testimony to determine what the accepted medical standard of care would be.

A doctor might have violated their duty if they prescribe the medication that is dangerously incompatible with another drug. This is a common error that could have grave health implications.

It is not enough to show that malpractice attorneys occurred. To be awarded damages, you need to prove that there was a direct link between the doctor's breach of duty and your injury or illness. This is called causation. This is a challenging connection to establish in some cases, but a seasoned malpractice lawyer will work hard to uncover the evidence needed to prove the link.

Causation

A malpractice lawsuit only has validity when the plaintiff can prove that the defendant's negligence caused the losses and injuries. Expert testimony is required to prove medical negligence. This requires establishing that there was a patient-provider relation and that the provider violated the acceptable standard. It is essential that the injury suffered by the person be directly tied to the act or omission that breached the standard. This is known as causality or proximate cause.

In order to prove legal malpractice, it is necessary to prove that the negligence of the attorney caused significant negative consequences for you. A lawsuit can be costly and you must be able to prove that your losses exceed the cost of litigation. The plaintiff has to also prove that the negligence resulted in tangible and quantifiable damage.

Most malpractice cases are subject to a discovery process that includes oral depositions. Your lawyer can represent you at the depositions, asking questions of the experts in defense to challenge their findings and to show that the evidence supports your claims. A medical malpractice lawyer with experience is crucial to your case as establishing the four elements of a case, including duty breach, causation, and harm, can be difficult and time consuming. Your lawyer will guide you through each step of the process. The more steps you complete the better chance you have of winning your claim.

Damages

The monetary compensation a patient receives in a malpractice case depends on their injury and the amount of money they require to pay medical bills, loss of income, or other financial losses. In some cases there are punitive damages that can be given to the plaintiff in retaliation for the doctor's conduct. However, these are extremely rare because doctors must have acted with intent or recklessness to be awarded punitive damages.

The law requires that a person seeking medical malpractice prove four elements or legal requirements: (1) there was a duty of care on the part of the doctor; (2) the doctor breached the duty of care by straying from the prevailing standards of practice; (3) as a result of the doctor's lapse, the victim suffered injury; and (4) the injury is measurable in terms of the amount of money. The person who was injured must bring a lawsuit prior to the deadline for filing a lawsuit, which is determined by the statute of limitations applicable to them, which varies from state to state.

The law recognizes that medical malpractice lawsuits are complex and costly to resolve, particularly when they are based on complicated issues such as proximate causes or the possibility of foreseeability. Its aim is to ensure that victims receive the justice they deserve, without allowing frivolous and opportunistic suits to clog courts. It also seeks to reduce costs by requiring that all defendants share responsibility for a claim's success (joint and several liability) as well as limiting the maximum amount a plaintiff can get if the other defendants do not have funds to pay ("damage caps"); and preventing doctors from practicing defensive medicine, which includes changing their treatment plans due to the threat of malpractice lawsuits.