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Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Malpractice lawsuits are a serious and feared threat for physicians. They can increase insurance costs for doctors and alter the medical practice.

In general doctors owe their patients the obligation to follow the accepted medical practice without any deviation or the slightest omission. This is known as the standard of care.

To successfully bring a lawsuit against a doctor who has committed negligence, the patient must be able to prove each of the following legal elements by a preponderance of the evidence: breach of obligation; causation; damages.

Duty of Care

The first thing to consider in a medical malpractice case is that the victim was owed a duty of a doctor which was not fulfilled. Medical malpractice cases differ from other types of negligence cases in that they usually involve a physician-patient relationship, which is established by things like doctor's records or telephone consultations. In general, doctors who treat their patients must adhere to the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

However, doctors can also be held accountable for the negligence of their staff members, like interns or assistants. They may also be held accountable for the actions of emergency personnel under their supervision.

The next element that a plaintiff has to prove is that the defendant failed to satisfy the standard of medical care under the circumstances. This element can be proven by expert testimony regarding acceptable medical practices and the defendant's inability to comply with these guidelines. The second aspect of malpractice is that this breach directly caused harm to the patient. To prove this, your lawyer must show a direct cause and effect between the defendant's dereliction of duty and your injury or loved one's death. This is referred to as proximate causation. If, for example, the alleged negligent treatment was not able to have an adverse effect on your health, regardless of whether or not it was performed in a way that was harmful, you will not be able to get compensation for any injuries, or wrongful death that was believed to be cause by the physician's behavior.

Breach of Duty

A physician who fails to meet their duty of care to the client could be held liable for negligence. In order to win a medical negligence lawsuit the person who suffered must prove four things: that there was a duty to care and the doctor breached the duty, that the breach resulted in injury, and that the injury caused damage. The first aspect of a medical malpractice lawsuit revolves around the standard of care that is determined by experts' testimony. The standard of care is what a "reasonably prudent" doctor would do under similar or identical circumstances.

A physician violates this duty in the event that he or she departs from standard care while treating the patient. If a physician fractures the arm of a patient they may not be able to cast the patient correctly. The doctor's breach of this duty causes the injured arm to heal incorrectly, resulting in partial or full loss of use, and further financial damages.

In most instances, medical malpractice lawsuits are filed in state trial courts. However in certain circumstances, federal courts can also take on these cases. The 94 federal district courts across the United States each have a judge and jury panel that handles these cases. A majority of states have a system of state courts that deal with these matters. However, they follow different rules of court procedures than federal district courts.

Causation

Physicians take an oath to avoid harm, and if they fail in their duty to uphold this obligation and cause injury, a patient may be entitled to compensation for damages. A medical malpractice lawsuit could also arise when a doctor opts to carry out a procedure that carries known risks, and the patient would have opted to not undergo the procedure if fully informed of all possible consequences.

The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit must prove that the medical professional did not adhere to accepted guidelines for practice, and that the failure was a direct cause for the injury or illness the patient suffered and that the ailment could not have occurred if it weren't for the physician's negligence. The burden of proof, referred to as "preponderance" of evidence is less stringent than "beyond reasonable doubt" required to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits typically involve expert witnesses and lengthy pretrial discovery procedures. Both sides spend a lot of time and money prepping for a trial, whether it settles or if it is a court case. This is a major reason why malpractice claims can be so costly for both the plaintiff and the physician involved, and is one of the reasons that health care professionals and physicians organizations support efforts to change tort law in the United States.

Damages

Victims may be awarded damages for punitive or compensatory, based on the kind of medical malpractice. Compensatory damages pay for the financial losses and expenses resulted from the negligence of the doctor for example, loss of income or the cost of future medical malpractice attorney care. Non-economic damages could include compensation for mental and physical suffering.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are typically filed in a state trial court. There are a few instances where an action can be filed in federal courts. This is usually the case where a doctor works at an institution that is funded by federal funds such as the Veteran's Administration, or if the physician is from another country but is practicing in the United States under a treaty of extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are mostly adversarial and require extensive legal discovery. This may include written interrogatories as well as depositions, as well as requests for documents. Victims of alleged medical negligence could also be subject to the stress of the jury trial, and possibly face the threat of being rejected by a judge or rejected by the jury.

To be successful in a medical malpractice claim, you must prove that the medical malpractice attorney error or negligence caused your injury. The damage must be serious enough that a cash award is sufficient to cover your financial losses and emotional distress. Additionally, New York medical malpractice laws have certain damage caps as well as other limits on the amount that could be awarded to a patient who has a successful claim.