Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

The process of bringing a malpractice lawsuit is a complex procedure. The question of whether or not an error is considered to be malpractice is dependent on whether the patient can establish four legal elements that include a professional obligation; breach of this duty; injury resulting from the breach; and the possibility of quantifiable damages.

Plaintiffs must also demonstrate these elements with evidence such as expert testimony, depositions and discovery.

Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose

Failure to correctly diagnose an illness or injury accurately could lead to serious complications, or malpractice lawsuit death. Many medical malpractice cases involve incorrect diagnosis. To prove negligence, a person or their lawyer must prove that a seasoned doctor in similar circumstances would not have misdiagnosed a condition.

The misdiagnosis of a patient does not always mean malpractice. Even highly trained and experienced doctors make mistakes. Therefore, the claim of malpractice must be supported by other elements like breach, proximate causation, and actual injury. For example, if a physician fails to properly clean their equipment prior the time they administer anesthesia, and the patient develops an infection as a result the doctor could be found to be negligent.

In most cases, lawsuits that allege malpractice will be filed in the state trial court in which the alleged misconduct occurred. However, federal courts might be able to handle cases in certain circumstances. For instance, a lawsuit may be brought in federal court if there is a dispute over the time limit for filing a claim or when there is a substantial difference in citizenship among those involved in the dispute. Alternatively, some claims are settled through voluntary binding arbitration. This is a less-formal process which involves professionals who make the decisions. It is designed to cut expenses, speed up the legal process, and remove the risk of overly large juries. Arbitration is not available in all instances of malpractice.

Wrong Drug Dosage

Medication errors, also known as medication mistakes, are among the most common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can be caused by a physician prescribing the wrong medication or giving the wrong dosage to patients. These errors are typically preventable. Based on the circumstances the hospital, its staff, a pharmacist or other health care provider could be held accountable for the injuries sustained by a patient who was given the wrong drug dosage.

A doctor may prescribe the wrong medicine because of a misdiagnosis. Or, simply not understanding the prescription correctly. A health care provider may also prescribe the wrong dose due to a breakdown in communication like when a nurse reads the handwritten prescription of a doctor incorrectly or the pharmacist makes a mistake in filling the prescription. In other cases, a physician might delay the administration of the correct medication to the patient, resulting in their condition becoming worse.

A plaintiff must prove for the sake of winning a malpractice lawsuit that the medical professional breached their standards of practice and that their injuries were directly attributed to the negligence. This requires medical experts to be able to testify. A medical malpractice case must prove the extent and the damages caused by the victim's injuries. This includes the costs of treatment for the victim as well as any wages lost. The greater the loss of the claim, the greater the value of the claim.

Incorrect Procedure

It may seem impossible that medical professionals could perform the wrong procedure on a patient, however, this kind of thing does occur. The surgeon who commits this kind of error could be held accountable for negligence. However the patient who is injured by a surgical mistake can also be held accountable for any negligence that occurred on the way to the procedure.

A health professional accused of negligence must prove that the patient was injured due to an act or inability to perform the act. To prove this the legal counsel of the patient must prove that (1) the doctor had an obligation to provide treatment or treatment; (2) that the doctor breached the duty of care; (3) that there is a direct causal link between the breach and the injury; and (4) that the injury results in damages that the legal system can be able to address.

A breach of duty of care is no meaning unless it result in injury. This is the reason why medical malpractice cases tend to be dependent on the lawful doctrine "res ipsa locquitur," which says that certain injuries are so obvious that they can only be explained by negligence.

Based on the facts of the case, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally designated representative) or their attorney could make the claim in a state or federal court. Most malpractice cases are filed in state court. However, under limited circumstances the medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

Wrong-site surgery is a rare error, but it can be considered medical negligence if the procedure is carried out on the wrong portion of the body. This kind of error is typically the result of miscommunication between members of a surgical team or production pressure that results in the surgeon being assigned multiple surgeries at one time. In these situations, a surgeon is not solely responsible for a wrong-site procedure due to the legal principle of "res ipsa locquitur", which states that the result speaks for itself and cannot be blamed on negligence.

If a patient is injured as a result of surgery done on the wrong location it is possible that he or she will require additional procedures to fix problems exacerbated by the surgical error. This can result in high medical expenses for patients as well as their families. It is important to take these costs into consideration when calculating the financial cost of medical malpractice claims.

Surgeons are most often held accountable for surgical errors as they are the ones who are accountable for getting ready for the procedure, double-checking the patient's chart and medical records, communicating effectively with other members of the medical team, and making sure that the incision has been made on the correct site. In some cases, a hospital or anesthesiologist may also be held responsible. Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually filed in state courts. However, in certain situations they may be transferred to federal court.