Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

Malpractice litigation involves a complex process. If a patient can demonstrate four factors, it will determine whether or not the error is malpractice. These are professional obligations or breach of that duty; an injury resulting from the breach; and measurable damages.

Plaintiffs must also demonstrate these elements with evidence like expert testimony, depositions, or discovery.

Incorrect diagnosis or failure to diagnose

A physician's inability to diagnose an illness or injury could lead to grave complications, or even death. The misdiagnosis of a patient is a frequent reason for medical malpractice law firms. To prove negligence, the patient or their lawyer must demonstrate that a competent doctor in similar circumstances and working in the same specialty would not have misdiagnosed the problem.

The misdiagnosis of a patient does not always mean negligence. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors make mistakes, therefore an allegation of malpractice needs to be supported by other factors such as breach, proximate causality and actual injury. If a doctor does not sterilize his equipment before administering anesthesia and the patient develops an infection due to this, the doctor might be found to be negligent.

Lawsuits alleging malpractice are typically filed in state trial courts, where the alleged malpractice occurred. However, federal courts may have jurisdiction in certain situations. For instance, a claim may be brought in federal court if it involves disputes over a statute of limitations or when there is a substantial variety of citizenship among the parties to the case. Certain disputes are settled via arbitration that is binding and voluntary. This is a less formal process which involves professionals who make the decisions. It is designed to lower costs, expedite the legal process, and remove the risk of overly large juries. Arbitration is not accessible in all cases of malpractice.

Wrong Drug Dosage

Medication errors, also known as medication mistakes, are one of the most frequent causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can involve a physician prescribing the wrong medication or administering the wrong dosage to a patient. These errors are generally preventable. Depending on the circumstances the hospital or its staff, a pharmacist or other health professionals could be held responsible for the injuries suffered by patients who were given the wrong dosage of a drug.

A doctor may prescribe the wrong medication to a patient because of an inaccurate diagnosis or simply by misreading the prescription. A health care professional may also administer the incorrect dosage because of a glitch in communication. For example nurses may interpret a doctor's prescription incorrectly or a pharmacist could make an error when filling the prescription. In other cases the doctor might delay delivering the correct medication, which could cause the patient's condition to worsening.

A person seeking compensation must prove, for the sake of winning a malpractice claim, that the medical professional violated their standard of practice and that their injuries were directly caused by the negligence. This requires medical experts to provide evidence. Medical malpractice cases also must prove the severity and the damages caused by the victim's injuries. This includes the cost of treatment as well as any lost wage. Generally, the greater a loss is in the greater value of the claim will be.

Unskillful Procedure

It might seem absurd that medical professionals would perform the incorrect procedure on a patient however, this type of event occurs. The surgeon who makes this mistake could be held accountable for malpractice. However, a patient who is injured by a surgical mistake can also be held accountable for any negligence that occurred the way to the procedure.

A health care professional who is accused of malpractice must demonstrate that a patient was injured by an act or failure to perform the act. To establish this the legal counsel of the patient must demonstrate that: (1) the doctor was bound by an obligation to provide treatment or treatment; (2) that the doctor breached this duty; (3) that there is a direct causal link between the breach and the injury; and (4) that the injury causes damages that the legal system could resolve.

A breach of the duty of care has no significance unless it causes injury, that's why medical malpractice lawsuits are generally founded on a legal principle known as "res ipsa loquitur." This law says that, in a lot of instances certain injuries are so obvious and recognizable that they can only be explained through negligence.

Based on the circumstances depending on the facts, the plaintiff (the person who filed the claim, or their legal representative) or their lawyer could decide to file a lawsuit in either state or federal court. Most malpractice cases are filed in state court. However, in certain circumstances medical malpractice lawsuits can be brought in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

The procedure that is performed on the wrong site is not common however, it could be a case of medical malpractice in the event that the procedure is carried out in the wrong place on your body. This type of error is usually the result of miscommunications between members of the surgical team or production pressures that result in a surgeon having multiple surgeries scheduled at the same time. In these instances the surgeon isn't the only one with responsibility for an incorrect-site procedure due to a legal principle called "res ipsa loquitur" which means that the result of the error is evident and can only be attributed to negligence.

When a patient is injured by wrong-site surgery and is injured, they may require additional procedures to fix problems that are aggravated by the surgical error. Patients and their families are left with expensive medical bills. This expense should be taken into consideration when calculating the financial impact of medical malpractice claims.

The majority of times surgeons are held accountable for surgical mistakes. They are responsible in preparing the patient for the procedure, examining the medical records and charts of the patient, coordinating with the rest of the medical team, and ensuring that the incision was made at the right place. In some instances an anesthesiologist or hospital can also be held liable. Medical malpractice lawsuits are typically filed in state court, but can be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.