Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

The process of bringing a malpractice lawsuit is a complex procedure. The degree to which an error is malpractice based on the ability of the patient to prove four legal elements that include a professional obligation breach of this duty; injury caused by the breach and tangible damages.

Plaintiffs must also prove the elements using evidence, such as expert testimony and depositions.

Misdiagnosis and Failure to Diagnose

The inability of a doctor to accurately diagnose an illness or injury could result in grave complications, or even death. A lot of medical malpractice cases involve misdiagnosis. To prove negligence, the patient or their attorney must demonstrate that a competent physician under similar circumstances and in the same specialty would not have misdiagnosed the condition.

Every misdiagnosis can be considered to be malpractice, however. Even highly experienced and trained doctors can make mistakes. Therefore, a claim of malpractice has to be backed by other elements such as breach, proximate cause and actual injury. For instance, if a physician does not properly sterilize their equipment prior to giving anesthesia to a patient and they develop an infection in the process the doctor could be guilty of malpractice.

Legal actions claiming malpractice are usually filed in state trial courts where the alleged misconduct occurred. Federal courts could be able to handle the case in certain circumstances. For instance, a lawsuit could be filed in federal court if it involves the interpretation of the statute of limitations or in the event of a significant diversity of citizenship of the parties involved in the case. In other cases, certain claims are resolved through binding arbitration that is voluntary. This is a non-formal procedure that involves professional decision makers. It is designed to minimize costs, expedite the legal process, and remove the risks associated with large juries. Arbitration is not available in all instances of malpractice.

The wrong dosage of medication

Medication errors, also referred as medication errors are among the leading causes of medical malpractice suits. These errors are caused by a doctor who has submitted prescriptions in the wrong format or giving the patient the incorrect dosage. These errors are often preventable. Depending on the circumstances, a hospital or its staff, a pharmacist or other health care provider may be held liable for the injuries suffered by patients who were given the wrong dose of medication.

A doctor may prescribe the wrong medication because of a misdiagnosis. Or, simply misreading the prescription. A health care provider can also administer the incorrect dosage because of a glitch in communication. For example nurses may take a doctor's prescription and read it incorrectly or a pharmacist could make an error when filling the prescription. In other cases, a doctor could delay the administration of the correct medication to the patient, resulting in their condition becoming worse.

A plaintiff must prove in order to prevail on a malpractice claim, that the medical professional violated their standards of practice and that their injuries were directly attributed to the negligence. This requires medical experts to testify. A medical malpractice case must establish the extent and damages of the victim's injuries. This includes the cost of treatment as well as any lost wage. The more money you lose of the claim, the greater the value of the claim.

Wrong Procedure

It might seem unlikely that medical professionals would carry out the incorrect procedure on a patient however, this kind of thing is quite common. A surgeon who makes the mistake could be held accountable for malpractice. However patients who are injured by a surgical mistake could also be held accountable for any negligence that occurred along the path to the procedure.

Any health care professional who is accused of misconduct must prove that the patient was harmed by a specific action or inaction. To establish this the legal counsel of the patient must show that: (1) the doctor was bound by the obligation to provide medical care or treatment; (2) that the doctor did not fulfill this duty; (3) that there is a direct causal link between the breach and the injury and malpractice Lawsuit (4) that the injury results in damages that the legal system is able to deal with.

A breach of duty of care is no significance unless it results in injury. This is why medical malpractice cases are typically built on the legal principle "res ipsa locquitur," which says that certain injuries are so obvious that they can be explained only by negligence.

Depending on the facts depending on the facts, the plaintiff (the person who filed the claim, or their legal representative) or their lawyer could decide to file the case either in state or federal court. Most malpractice attorney cases are filed in state court, but in certain situations the medical malpractice lawsuit could be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

A wrong-site procedure is a rare mistake, but it could be considered medical malpractice if the procedure is carried out on the wrong portion of the body. This type of error Malpractice Lawsuit is often caused by miscommunication between the members of a surgical team or production pressure that results in the surgeon being tasked with multiple surgeries at once. In these situations the surgeon isn't solely responsible for his or her liability for a wrong-site surgery due to the legal principle known as "res ipsa loquitur" which means that the effect of the error speaks for itself and cannot be traced to negligence.

When a patient is injured due to surgery performed on the wrong site it is possible that he or she will require additional treatments to correct issues that were caused by the surgical mistake. Patients and their families are left with expensive medical bills. These expenses must be taken into consideration when calculating the financial consequences of medical malpractice claims.

Surgeons are usually held liable for surgical errors since they are the ones who are responsible for properly getting ready for the procedure as well as double-checking the patient's charts and medical records, coordinating effectively with other members of the medical team, and making sure that the incision has been made on the correct site. In certain instances, a hospital or anesthesiologist may also be held responsible. Medical malpractice claims are generally filed in state courts, but can be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.