Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Physicians are worried about malpractice lawsuits because they pose an actual threat. They increase insurance costs and can affect the way doctors practice.

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

To successfully bring a lawsuit against a doctor who has committed negligence, the patient must demonstrate each of the following legal elements using a preponderance of the evidence: duty; breach of obligation; causation; damages.

Duty of Care

The first element of a medical malpractice claim is that the injured party was legally obligated by the doctor that was breached. Medical malpractice claims differ from other types of negligence cases in that they usually involve a physician-patient relation, which can be established by documents from a doctor or phone consultations. In general, doctors who treat their patients must adhere to the accepted standards in their profession and practice.

However, doctors could be held accountable for the actions of their employees, such as interns or assistants. They can also be held accountable for the actions of emergency personnel working under their supervision.

The plaintiff must then prove that the defendant's actions did not meet the standard care under the circumstances. This element can only be proven with expert testimony on acceptable medical practices, and the defendant's inability to adhere to these standards. The second element of malpractice is that the breach directly harmed the patient. To prove this your lawyer must demonstrate that there is a direct link and causal relationship between the defendant's omission of duty and your injury or your loved one's death. This is called proximate cause. For example, if the negligence alleged by the defendant wouldn't have had a negative effect on your health irrespective whether it was executed or not, you would not be able claim damages for any injuries or wrongful deaths that were allegedly caused by the doctor's actions.

Breach of Duty

A doctor who fails to perform their duty of professional care to a patient could be held accountable for negligent behavior. In order to win a medical malpractice suit the victim must establish four elements: there was a duty to care and the physician violated the duty, that the breach resulted in injuries, and then the injury resulted in damages. The first element of a medical malpractice lawsuit revolves around the standard of care that is determined by expert testimony. The standard of care is defined as the things that would a "reasonably prudent" doctor would do in similar or similar circumstances.

The physician's violation of this obligation occurs when he/she is not following the standard of care when providing treatment to the patient. If a physician breaks the arm of a patient, they may not be able to cast the patient correctly. The doctor's breach of this obligation causes the broken arm to heal incorrectly, resulting in the loss of use, whether complete or partial. of use, and further financial damages.

In most instances, medical malpractice lawsuits are filed with state trial courts. However in certain circumstances federal courts are also able to take on these cases. Each of the 94 federal district courts in the United States has a judge-jury panel that handles medical malpractice cases. The majority of states have a special system of state courts that deal with the issues. However, they follow different rules for court procedures than federal district courts.

Causation

Doctors swear to not cause harm, and should they violate this obligation and cause injury, the patient may be entitled to compensation for damages. A medical malpractice lawsuit could be brought up when a doctor chooses to perform a treatment which has known risks and the patient would have opted to not undergo the procedure if fully aware of all potential 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 doctor's negligence was a direct cause of the illness or injury the patient was suffering from and that the ailment would not have occurred but because of the negligence of the doctor. The burden of proof, known as "preponderance" of the evidence is less demanding than "beyond reasonable doubt" which is needed to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits typically require expert testimony and lengthy pre-trial discovery hearings. Both sides invest a lot of time and resources in preparing for a case, whether it is settled or if it is a court case. This is a major reason that malpractice claims are costly to both the plaintiff and the physician involved. It is one of the main reasons that health care professionals and physicians organizations support efforts to reform tort law in the United States.

Damages

Depending on the type of medical negligence, the victims may be able to recover punitive and compensatory damages. Compensation damages compensate the patient for the monetary losses or expenses caused by the doctor's negligence. This includes the loss of income as well as future medical costs. Non-economic damages are compensation for physical pain as well as mental anguish.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are filed in state trial courts. However, there are certain situations in which a lawsuit may be filed in federal court. This is typically the case when a doctor is employed by a federally funded clinic like the Veteran's administration, or in the case of a doctor who is from another country but practices in the United States as part of a treaty with extraterritorial authority.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are largely adversarial in nature and involve large amounts of legal discovery. This includes depositions, written interrogatories, and requests for the production of documents. The victims of medical negligence could also have to endure a jury trial and may be in danger that their claim will be rejected by a judge or rejected by a juror.

You must establish that medical negligence or error was the cause of the injury you suffered to win a claim for medical malpractice. The injury must be significant enough that a monetary award will significantly compensate for your financial losses as well as emotional pain. New York medical malpractice law also has damage caps, as well as limits to the amount that patients can be awarded if they successfully make a claim.