Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Physicians are concerned about malpractice lawsuits as real threats. They can raise insurance costs and could alter the way doctors practice.

In general doctors owe patients the obligation to follow the accepted medical practices, without any deviation or infraction. This is known as the standard of care.

To successfully sue a doctor for negligence, the patient must demonstrate each of the following legal elements by a preponderance of evidence: breach of duty; causation; damages.

Duty of Care

The first element of a medical negligence claim is that the victim was obliged to perform a duty by the doctor that was violated. Medical malpractice cases differ from other types of negligence claims in that they often involve a physician-patient relationship that can be established through documents from a doctor or phone consultations. Generally, physicians who treat patients must adhere to the standards that are accepted in their profession and practice.

Doctors could also be held responsible for the incompetence or negligence of their staff members, such as interns or assistants. Furthermore, they can be held accountable for the actions of emergency medical personnel who are working under their supervision.

The plaintiff is then required to establish that the defendant's conduct did not comply with the standard of care under the circumstances. This can be established through expert testimony on acceptable medical practices and the defendant's failure to adhere to these guidelines. The other element is that the breach directly injured the patient. To prove this, your lawyer must show the direct causality and impact between the defendant's dereliction of duty and your injury or loved one's untimely death. This concept is known as causal proximate. For firms instance, if negligence alleged by the defendant wouldn't have had a negative impact on your health irrespective whether it was performed or not, you would not be able to claim damages for any injuries or deaths that were caused by the physician's conduct.

Breach of Duty

A doctor who fails to fulfill their duty of care to the client could be held accountable for their negligence. In order to succeed in a medical negligence claim, the patient must prove four legal aspects that a duty of professional care was owed and the physician violated this obligation; the breach led to injury; and the injury caused damages. The standard of care is the main element in a medical malpractice case, and it's determined by expert testimony. The standard of care is what a "reasonably cautious" doctor would do in similar or identical circumstances.

The physician's violation of this obligation occurs when he or she is not following the standard of care in providing treatment to the patient. If a doctor fractures the arm of a patient he or she may fail to cast the patient correctly. The doctor's breach of this duty causes the broken arm to heal improperly, resulting in the complete or partial loss of use and monetary damages.

Medical malpractice cases are brought in state trial courts, but under certain conditions, federal courts may also take on these cases. The 94 federal districts courts across the United States each have a jury and judge panel that is responsible for hearing these cases. The majority of states have a special system of state courts that deal with these cases. However, they have different rules of court procedure than federal district courts.

Causation

A patient could be entitled to compensation for damages if the doctor fails to meet their obligation to avoid harm. A medical malpractice claim could also arise if the physician performs a procedure that is associated with known risks, firms and the patient wouldn't have agreed to the procedure if they had been fully informed.

The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit must prove that the doctor failed to follow accepted standards of practice, that the doctor's negligence was the primary cause of the injury or illness the patient was suffering from and that the injury could not have occurred except for the physician's negligence. The burden of proof, also known as "preponderance" of the evidence is less stringent than "beyond reasonable doubt" which is needed to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits usually involve expert testimony from witnesses and lengthy discovery procedures prior to trial. If the case settles or goes to trial, attorneys on both sides spend an enormous amount of time and effort preparing for the issue. This is the reason why malpractice claims can be expensive for both the physician and the plaintiff involved. It is also one of the main reasons why doctors and health organizations are in favor of efforts to reform the tort laws in the United States.

Damages

Victims may be awarded compensatory or punitive damages, based on the type of medical malpractice law firms malpractice. Compensatory damages pay for the financial losses and expenses due to the negligence of the doctor like loss of income or costs of future medical care. Non-economic damages can include reimbursement for physical and mental anguish.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are filed in state trial courts. However, there are certain situations where a lawsuit can be filed in federal court. This is typically the situation when a doctor is employed at a federally funded clinic such as the Veterans' Administration, or where the doctor is from a different country, but is working in the United States under a treaty of extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are adversarial and require extensive legal discovery. This includes depositions, written interrogatories and requests for the production of documents. The victims of alleged medical negligence may also be required to go through a jury trial, and face the possibility of their claim being rejected by a judge or dismissed by a juror.

You must prove that medical negligence, or error was the cause of your injury in order to be awarded a lawsuit for medical malpractice. The harm must be serious enough that a financial settlement would substantially make up for your financial losses and firms emotional trauma. Additionally, New York medical malpractice laws have certain damage caps as well as other limits on the amount which can be awarded to a patient who has a successful claim.