Making Medical Malpractice Legal

Medical malpractice is a complicated legal area. Physicians should take precautions to shield themselves from the risk of liability by purchasing medical malpractice insurance.

Patients must prove that a physician's breach of duty caused injury to them. Damages are based on economic losses, like lost income, future medical malpractice attorney expenses and non-economic losses such as pain and discomfort.

Duty of care

The duty of care is the most important element that a medical malpractice lawyer must establish in a case. All healthcare professionals are accountable towards their patients to act according to the standards of care applicable to their area of expertise. This includes doctors and nurses as and other medical professionals. This includes medical students, interns and assistants working under the supervision of a doctor or physician.

The standard of care is established by a medical expert witness in court. They look over the medical records and then compare them to the standards of care a competent doctor in the same field would have done under similar circumstances.

If the healthcare professional's conduct or the absence of action fell below the standard, they acted in violation of their duty of care and caused injury. The patient who was injured must show that the breach of care by the healthcare professional directly impacted their losses. This could include scarring, pain, and other injuries. They can also include financial losses like medical expenses and lost wages.

If a surgeon removes an instrument used for surgery inside a patient after surgery, it could cause discomfort or other issues which can lead to damages. Medical malpractice lawyers can be able to prove through the testimony a medical expert that the surgical team's negligence resulted in these damages. This is referred to as direct causation. The patient must also show the evidence of their damages.

Breach of duty

When a medical malpractice attorneys professional deviates from the accepted standard of care and this deviation results in injury to the patient, a malpractice claim may be filed. The party who suffered the injury must demonstrate that the doctor breached their duty to care by providing care that was not up to par. In other words, the doctor was negligent and this led to the patient to suffer damages.

To prove that the physician violated their duty of care, a knowledgeable attorney has to present expert evidence to establish that the defendant failed to possess or exercise the degree of expertise and knowledge possessed by doctors in their field of expertise. Additionally, the plaintiff has to show a direct relationship between the alleged negligence and the injuries that were sustained; this is known as causation.

A plaintiff who has been injured must also demonstrate that they would not have opted for a particular treatment if properly informed. This is also referred to as the principle of informed consent. Physicians are required to inform patients of the risks and complications that might arise from a certain procedure prior to undergoing surgery or putting the patient under anesthesia.

To make a medical malpractice claim, the victim must make a claim within a certain time frame, known as the statute of limitations. A court is almost always able to dismiss a case filed after the statute of limitations has passed regardless of how serious the health care provider's mistake or how serious the harm to the patient was. Certain states have laws that require the parties in a medical malpractice suit to engage in binding arbitration on their own or submit their claims to a screening panel as an alternative to going to trial.

Causation

Both the lawyers and the physicians involved in the lawsuit must invest significant amounts of time and resources to prove medical malpractice. The process of proving that doctors' treatment differed from the accepted standards requires extensive examination of medical records, interviews with witnesses, as well as an analysis of medical literature. Additionally lawsuits must be filed within the specified period of time set by law. Generally, this deadline--called the statute of limitations begins to expire when the medical error was made or when a patient discovers (or should have known according to the law) that they were injured by a physician's mistake.

Causation is the fourth and most important aspect of a medical malpractice case. It can be the most difficult element to prove. A lawyer must establish that a doctor's breach of the duty of care directly caused injury to the patient and the damages or injuries were not the case but for the physician's negligence. This is known as proximate or actual cause. The legal threshold for proof of this element differs from that used in criminal cases, where the proof must be beyond a reasonable doubt.

If a lawyer is able to establish these three essential elements, then the victim of malpractice may be able to claim financial compensation from the defendant. These damages are designed to provide compensation to the victim for injuries, loss of quality of life and other damages.

Damages

Medical malpractice cases can be complex and require expert testimony. The plaintiff's attorney must prove that the physician failed to meet a standard of care, that such failure caused injury, and that the injuries resulted in damages. The plaintiff must also prove that the injury can be measured in terms of money.

Medical negligence lawsuits can be among the most complex and expensive legal actions. To lower the costs of litigation, several states have introduced tort reform laws that aim to improve efficiency, decrease frivolous claims and compensate the injured fairly. These measures limit the amount plaintiffs can claim for pain and suffering, limiting the number defendants who are accountable for paying an award and requiring mediation or arbitration.

Additionally, many malpractice claims involve highly technical issues that are difficult for judges and juries to understand. Experts are essential in these cases. If surgeons make mistakes during surgery, the lawyer for the patient should seek an orthopedic specialist to explain why the error medical malpractice lawyer would not have occurred if the surgeon had acted in accordance with the applicable medical standards.