Medical Malpractice Law

Medical errors can happen even with the best education or a sworn pledge of not causing harm to others. If medical errors occur the consequences for patients can be devastating.

Malpractice law is a branch of tort law that addresses professional negligence. A malpractice lawsuit must meet four essential elements:

In the United States, malpractice claims are usually filed in state trial court. Numerous legal tools, like depositions under oath are used in order to collect evidence for the case.

Duty of care

If you are in a doctor-patient relationship, a doctor has a responsibility of taking care of you. This applies whether the doctor is treating you in a hospital, or in your home. However, there are some instances where doctors are at risk of malpractice even without the existence of a patient-doctor relationship.

A person who has a duty of care has to act in a manner that reasonable people would do in the same situation. For example, a driver, has a duty of care to drive with safety and not to cause harm to other road users. If a driver does not fulfill this duty and causes an injury, he or her is liable for any injuries that result.

Doctors are required to care for their patients at all times. This includes situations where the doctor is not your doctor, such as when you ask a doctor for advice in an elevator or in a restaurant. However, the obligation to be a good neighbor is often restricted by Good Samaritan laws.

Medical professionals are also bound by a duty of care to inform their patients of the dangers involved in certain procedures and treatments. Failure to do this is a breach of a doctor's obligation. A doctor could also be in breach of their duty of care if they prescribe you medication that interacts with other medications you're taking.

Breach of duty

In general, doctors have the obligation to their patients to provide medical care that is in accordance with accepted standards of practice. This standard is set by current laws and standards developed by medical associations. If a physician fails to meet this obligation they are committing negligence. A malpractice lawyer will review the evidence and determine whether there was a violation of the standard of care.

A doctor could be in violation of their duty of care in a variety of ways. It's not only a matter of what they did that a reasonable person wouldn't do in the same situation, it also covers what they could have done, but didn't do. Most of the time, it is necessary to obtain expert witness testimony to determine what the accepted medical standard of care would be.

For instance, a physician who prescribes medication that is recognized to be in danger of interaction with other drugs could have violated their obligation. This is a common mistake that can have grave health implications.

However, merely showing that the breach of duty occurred is not enough to establish malpractice. To be awarded damages, you need to prove an immediate link between the breach of duty by the doctor and your injury or illness. This is called causation. This can be a complicated connection to make in some instances, but a knowledgeable malpractice lawyer will work hard to uncover the evidence needed to establish this link.

Causation

A plano malpractice attorney lawsuit only has legitimacy if the plaintiff can prove that the defendant's negligent actions caused the losses and injuries. Expert testimony is required to establish medical negligence. This requires proving that there was a relationship between the patient and the provider and that the provider did not meet the accepted standard. It is crucial that the injury of someone be directly connected to the act or omission that breached the standard. This is called causality or proximate cause.

When proving the legality of a lawyer, it is necessary to demonstrate that the lawyer's negligence has had a significant negative impact on you. A lawsuit can be costly and you must be able prove that your losses are more than the cost of the lawsuit. The plaintiff must also prove that the negligence resulted in actual and measurable damages.

In the majority of malpractice cases the discovery process includes oral depositions. Your lawyer can represent you in these depositions, asking questions of the defense experts to challenge their findings and show that the evidence backs your assertions. It is crucial to have a seasoned medical malpractice lawyer to represent you because the four elements of malpractice, such as breach, duty the duty, causation and injury is complex and time-consuming. Your lawyer knows each step of the process and will help you meet all requirements. The more steps you take the higher chance you have of winning your claim.

Damages

The amount of money a person receives in a medical negligence case is determined by the severity of their injuries and the amount of money they need to cover medical bills as well as loss of income or other financial losses. In some cases the plaintiff can be awarded punitive damages as a way to punish the doctor for their conduct. These are extremely rare, as doctors must have acted in recklessness or intent to receive punitive damages.

The law requires that a person seeking medical malpractice prove four elements or legal requirements: (1) there was an obligation of care on the part of the doctor; (2) the doctor did not fulfill this duty when he or she departed from the prevailing standards of practice; (3) as a result of the doctor's breach the victim was injured; and (4) the damage can be quantified in terms of the amount of money. In addition the victim must file a lawsuit within the applicable statute of limitations which varies according to the state.

The law recognizes that certain medical negligence claims take a considerable amount of time and money to resolve, especially those involving complex issues of proximate cause or foreseeability. The goal of the law is to give victims the redress they deserve without allowing frivolous and opportunistic lawsuits to clog the courts. It also aims to reduce costs by requiring that all defendants bear the responsibility for the success of a lawsuit (joint and multiple responsibility) as well as limiting the maximum amount a plaintiff could get if the other defendants do not have funds to pay ("damage caps") and stopping doctors from practicing defensive medicine, which includes altering their treatment plans in response to the threat of malpractice lawsuits.