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Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Malpractice lawsuits pose a real and serious threat to doctors. They can increase insurance costs for doctors and also alter the practice of medicine.

In general doctors owe their patients the obligation to follow the medical standards that are accepted without deviation or exclusion. This is known as the standard of care.

To sue a physician over malpractice, a patient must establish the following elements using a preponderance: duty, breach of duty, causation and damages.

Duty of Care

The first element of a medical negligence claim is that the victim was obliged to perform a duty by the doctor that was breached. medical malpractice attorney malpractice cases differ from other negligence cases in that they often involve a physician-patient relationship that can be established by documents from a doctor or telephone consultations. Generally, physicians who treat patients must adhere to the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

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

The next element the plaintiff must prove is that the defendant failed to meet the standards of care in the circumstances. This is only able to be proved through expert testimony about acceptable medical practices and the defendant's refusal to follow these guidelines. The second aspect of malpractice is that the breach directly caused harm to the patient. To prove this your lawyer must prove the direct causality and impact between the defendant's omission of duty and your injury, or your loved one's untimely death. This is referred to as causal proximate. For instance, if an negligent treatment that was alleged to have occurred wouldn't have had a negative impact on your health regardless whether it was executed or not, then you wouldn't be able claim damages for any injuries or wrongful deaths that were believed to have been resulted from the negligence of the doctor.

Breach of Duty

A doctor who does not fulfill their duty of care towards a client can be held liable for negligence. In order to be successful in a medical malpractice lawsuit, the injured person must prove four legal aspects that a duty of care or professional care was owed and the doctor violated this obligation; the breach led to injury, and the injury was a cause of damages. The first aspect of a medical malpractice lawsuit is the standard of care, which is determined by experts' testimony. The standard of care is what an "reasonably prudent" doctor would do in similar or identical circumstances.

The breach of this duty occurs when he/she deviates from the standard of care while providing treatment to the patient. For instance, if a doctor breaks a patient's arm, the doctor is not able to properly set the arm or fails to cast the broken arm. The physician's failure to perform this obligation causes the broken part to heal improperly, which results in a complete or partial loss of use, and further financial damages.

In most instances, medical malpractice lawsuits are filed with state trial courts. However in certain situations federal courts are also able to take on these cases. The 94 federal district courts across the United States each have a jury and judge panel that decides on these cases. A majority of states have a system of specialized state courts that handle these cases, but with different rules of court procedure than federal district courts.

Causation

Physicians swear to not cause harm, and when they fail to fulfill this duty and cause harm the patient could be entitled to compensation for any damages. Medical malpractice claims may also arise when a doctor administers a procedure with known risks and the patient would not have agreed to the procedure if they had been fully informed.

The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawyer malpractice lawsuit must prove that the physician failed to act in accordance with accepted standards of practice, that this failure was a direct cause of the illness or injury the patient suffered and that the harm could not have occurred if it weren't due to the negligence of the doctor. This burden of proof is also known as the "preponderance of evidence" standard, which is less demanding than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard that is required to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits typically require expert testimony and lengthy pretrial discovery processes. If the case is settled or goes to trial, attorneys from both sides spend substantial time and resources in preparation for the trial. This is one of the main reasons why malpractice claims are so expensive for both the plaintiff and the physician involved, and is one of the reasons that health care professionals and physicians organizations are in favor of reforming tort law in the United States.

Damages

Victims can be awarded compensatory or punitive damages, based on the kind of medical negligence. Compensation damages are awarded to compensate the patient for the financial loss or expenses caused by the doctor's negligence. This includes income loss and future medical expenses. Non-economic damages are compensation for physical pain as well as mental stress.

Medical malpractice claims are filed in state trial courts. However, there are some instances where a lawsuit can be filed in federal court. This is typically the case when a doctor is employed by a federally-funded medical clinic such as the Veteran's Administration or in the case of a doctor who is from other country, but practices in the United States as part of an agreement that confers extraterritorial authority.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are largely adversarial in nature and require large amounts of legal discovery. This may include written interrogatories as well as depositions, as well as requests for documents. The victims of alleged medical negligence may also be required to endure a jury trial and are at risk of their claim being rejected by a court or dismissed by a jury.

You must prove that medical negligence, or error caused your injury to be able to make a case for medical negligence. The damage must be severe enough to warrant a financial award that covers your financial losses as well as emotional distress. Additionally, New York medical malpractice laws have damages caps and other limitations on the amount that can be awarded to a patient who successfully makes a claim.