Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Malpractice lawsuits pose a real and serious threat to doctors. They can raise insurance costs and could alter medical practice.

In general, doctors are under a duty to their patients to adhere to accepted medical practices. This is known as the standard of care.

To successfully to sue a doctor for malpractice, the patient must be able to prove each of the following legal elements using the preponderance evidence: breach of that duty; causation; and damages.

Duty of Care

The most important element in a medical malpractice case is that the injured person was owed a duty by a doctor that was not met. Unlike some types of negligence cases Medical malpractice claims typically require a relationship between doctor and patient. This can be established through things such as doctor's medical records and telephone consultations. In general, physicians who treat their patients must adhere to the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

However, doctors could be held accountable for the negligence of their staff members, like assistants or interns. In addition, they could be held liable for the actions of emergency medical personnel working under their supervision.

The plaintiff must then demonstrate that the defendant did not comply with the standard of care under the circumstances. This can be established with expert testimony about acceptable medical procedures and the defendant's failure to follow these standards. The second element of malpractice is that the breach directly harmed the patient. To prove this your lawyer must demonstrate an immediate cause and effect between the defendant's dereliction of duty and your injury or loved one's death. This is known as proximate causes. For instance, if negligent treatment that was alleged to have occurred wouldn't have had an adverse effect on your health regardless whether it was executed or not, you would not be able to recover damages for any injuries or deaths that were resulted from the negligence of the doctor.

Breach of Duty

A doctor who does not fulfill their obligation of care to the client could be held responsible for negligence. In order to succeed in a medical negligence case, the victim must prove four legal elements which include: a duty to provide professional care existed and the doctor violated this duty; the breach caused injury; and the result led to damages. The first part of a medical malpractice lawsuit centers around the standard of care which is determined by experts' testimony. The standard of care is what an "reasonably prudent" doctor would do under similar or similar circumstances.

A physician violates this duty when he or her deviates from standard care while treating the patient. If a doctor breaks the arm of a patient they might fail to cast the arm correctly. A doctor's error can cause the broken arm to heal improperly. This can result in the loss of use, either in whole or in part of use and financial damages.

In the majority of instances, medical malpractice lawsuits are filed in state trial courts. However in certain situations, federal courts can also be able to hear these cases. Each of the 94 federal district courts in the United States has a judge-jury panel that will hear medical malpractice cases. The majority of states have a system of special state courts that deal with the cases, although they have different rules of court procedure than federal district courts.

Causation

Physicians take an oath to protect their patients and should they violate this obligation and cause injury the patient could be legally entitled to compensation for their losses. A medical malpractice lawsuit could be brought up when a doctor decides to administer a procedure that carries known risks, and the patient would have declined the procedure had they been fully informed of all possible consequences.

The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit must prove that the physician did not adhere to accepted guidelines for practice, and that this negligence was the primary cause of the injury or illness that the patient suffered and that the ailment could not have occurred except because of the negligence of the doctor. This burden of proof, referred to as "preponderance" of evidence, is less burdensome than "beyond reasonable doubt" which is needed to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits typically require expert testimony and lengthy pretrial discovery processes. Both sides invest a significant amount of time and money preparing for a case, whether it's settled or if it goes to court. This is one reason why malpractice claims are so costly to both the plaintiff and the medical professional involved, and is one of the reasons that doctors and health care organizations support efforts to reform tort law in the United States.

Damages

In the event of medical negligence, victims can recover compensatory and punitive damages. Compensation damages compensate the victim for the monetary losses or expenses resulting from the doctor's negligence. This includes income loss and future medical expenses. Non-economic damages are compensation for physical pain and mental stress.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually filed in a state trial court. However, there are situations where a suit could be filed in federal court. This is typically the case where a doctor works at a federally-funded clinic such as the Veterans' 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 significant legal discovery. This may include written interrogatories as well as depositions, as well as requests for documents. The victims of alleged medical negligence could also have to face a jury trial and risk the possibility of their claim being denied by a judge, or dismissed by a juror.

You must prove that medical negligence, or error caused 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 as well as emotional stress. New York medical malpractice law also has specific damages caps and limits on the amount the patient could receive when they are successful in bringing claims.