Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Physicians are worried about malpractice lawsuits because they pose a real threat. They can increase the cost of insurance for physicians and lawyers change the medical practice.

In general doctors owe their patients the obligation to adhere to accepted medical practices without deviation or lawyers omission. This is referred to as the "standard of care.

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

Duty of Care

The first thing to consider in a medical malpractice case is that the person injured was owed a duty of a doctor that was not met. Medical malpractice claims are different from other types of negligence cases because they typically involve a patient-physician relationship, which can be established through documents from a doctor or phone consultations. In general, physicians who treat patients must adhere to the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

Doctors could also be held liable for the incompetence or negligence of their staff, for example, assistants or interns. In addition, they could be held liable for the actions of emergency medical personnel under their supervision.

The plaintiff has to demonstrate that the defendant did not meet the standard care under the circumstances. This can only be proven by experts' testimony regarding acceptable medical practices, and the defendant's refusal to adhere to these guidelines. The other element is that the breach directly affected the patient. To prove this your lawyer must establish an immediate cause and effect between the defendant's omission of duty and your injury, or your loved one's death. This concept is known as the proximate cause. For instance, if alleged negligent treatment wouldn't have had a negative effect on your health, regardless of whether it was done or not, you won't be able to recover damages for any injuries or wrongful deaths that were caused by the conduct of the physician.

Breach of Duty

A physician who fails to meet their duty of care towards a client can be held accountable for negligence. In order to win a medical malpractice lawsuit the plaintiff must establish four elements: a duty of care existed and that the doctor breached the obligation, that the breach caused injuries, and then the injury caused damages. The standard of care is the most important aspect in a medical wrongful conduct case, and it's determined by an expert's testimony. The standard of care is the amount a "reasonably prudent" doctor would do under similar or similar circumstances.

The physician's violation of this duty is when he or she does not adhere to the standard of care in rendering treatment to the patient. For instance, if a doctor breaks a patient's arm the doctor does not correctly set it or fails to cast the broken arm. A breach by the doctor causes the broken arm heal incorrectly. This could lead to an incomplete or total loss of use and financial damages.

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

Causation

A patient could be entitled to compensation for the damages caused if a physician fails to fulfill their obligation to not cause harm. A medical malpractice lawsuit could also arise when a doctor decides to administer a procedure that has risks and the patient could have refused the procedure if they had been fully informed of the potential consequences.

In a lawsuit for medical malpractice the plaintiff must prove that the doctor did not act in accordance with accepted standards of practice. This failure must have been the primary cause of any injury or illness sustained by the patient and the ailment would never have occurred if not due to the negligence of the doctor. The burden of proof, known as "preponderance" of evidence is less burdensome than "beyond reasonable doubt" required to convict criminal defendants.

Lawsuits alleging medical malpractice often require expert testimony and lengthy pre-trial discovery hearings. If the case is settled or goes to trial, the lawyers on both sides have to spend considerable time and resources in preparing for the matter. This is why malpractice claims are costly for both the physician and the plaintiff involved. It is also one of the main reasons that doctors and health organizations are in favor of efforts to change tort laws in the United States.

Damages

Based on the nature of medical negligence, victims may be able to recover punitive and compensatory damages. Compensatory damages pay for monetary losses and expenses caused by the physician's negligence which includes loss of income or costs of future medical care. Non-economic damages include the compensation for physical pain and mental stress.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are filed in state trial courts. However, there are some instances where a lawsuit could be filed in federal court. This is usually the situation when a doctor is employed by a clinic that is funded by federal funds such as the Veterans Administration or in the case of a doctor who is from other country, but practices in the United States as part of a treaty with extraterritorial authority.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are generally adversarial and require extensive legal discovery. This includes written interrogatories, depositions, and requests for production of documents. Victims of alleged medical malpractice will also have to bear the pressure of an open jury trial and could risk being denied their claim by a judge or dismissed by the jury.

In order to win a medical negligence claim, you must show that the error or negligence of a medical professional caused your injury. The injury must be severe enough that a monetary award would substantially make up for your financial losses as well as emotional pain. Furthermore, New York medical malpractice laws have specific damage caps as well as other limits on the amount which can be awarded to a patient who successfully makes a claim.