Making Medical Malpractice Legal

Medical malpractice is a complicated legal field. Physicians must take steps to shield themselves from the risk of liability by purchasing medical malpractice insurance.

Patients must show that the physician's failure to fulfill duty caused harm to them. Damages are determined by the actual economic loss such as lost income or costs of future medical procedures, as well as non-economic losses such as suffering and pain.

Duty of care

The first element that a medical malpractice attorney needs to establish in a case is the duty of care. All healthcare professionals owe their patients the obligation to act in accordance with the current standard of care applicable to their particular field. This includes doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. This includes medical students, interns and assistants working under the supervision of a doctor or physician.

The quality of care is determined by an expert witness in court. They review the medical documents and compare them to the standards of care a competent doctor in the same field would do under similar circumstances.

If the healthcare professional's actions or the lack of actions fell short of this standard, they breached their duty of care and caused harm. The patient who was injured must prove that the professional's actions directly led to their losses. These can include scarring, pain and other injuries. They also can include financial losses, such as medical expenses and lost wages.

For instance the case where a surgeon left a surgical instrument inside the patient following surgery, it could trigger discomfort and other issues that result in damage. A medical malpractice attorney can demonstrate through the testimony of a medical expert that the surgical team's negligence resulted in these damage. This is referred to as direct causality. The patient must also show proof of their injuries.

Breach of duty

If a medical professional strays from the accepted standard of care, and this deviation results in injury to the patient then a malpractice lawsuit can be filed. The injured party must show that the doctor violated their duty of caring by providing substandard care. The doctor must have acted negligently, and the negligence caused the patient to suffer damage.

To prove that a physician breached their duty to care, a skilled attorney must present expert testimony to establish that the defendant did not have or exercise the level of expertise and knowledge possessed by doctors who are experts in their field. In addition, the plaintiff must establish a direct connection between the negligence alleged and the injuries suffered that resulted from it. This is known as causation.

A plaintiff who has been injured must also demonstrate that they would not have chosen one particular treatment had they been properly informed. This is also known as the principle of informed consent. Doctors are required to inform patients of the potential dangers or complications associated with procedures prior to deciding to perform surgery or put the patient under anesthesia.

To bring a medical malpractice attorney mishap claim, the patient who was injured must make a claim within a timeframe that is known as the statute of limitations. A court will typically dismiss a lawsuit filed after the statute of limitations has passed, no matter how egregious the error made by the healthcare provider or how damaging to the patient was. Certain states have laws that require the parties in a medical negligence lawsuit to engage in voluntary binding arbitration or submit their claims to a screening panel as an alternative to going to trial.

Causation

Medical malpractice claims require a substantial amount of time and funds, for both the physicians involved in the litigation as well as their lawyers. The process of proving that the treatment of a doctor was not in accordance with the accepted standard requires extensive analysis of medical records, interview with witnesses, as well as an analysis of medical literature. The law requires that lawsuits be filed within the deadline set by the court. Generally, this deadline--called the statute of limitations -- begins to expire when the medical malpractice occurred or when the patient discovered (or ought to have realized under the terms of the law) that they were hurt by a mistake made by a doctor.

Proving causation is one of the four fundamental elements of a medical malpractice claim and it is perhaps the most difficult to prove. Lawyers must prove that a doctor's failure to fulfill the duty of care directly caused injury to the patient and the injuries or losses could not have occurred if it weren't due to the negligence of the doctor. This is referred to as real or proximate reasons and the legal standard for proving this is different from the standard required in criminal proceedings, where the proof must be beyond reasonable doubt.

If a lawyer is able to establish these three essential elements, then the person who was the victim of malpractice could be able to receive an amount of money from the defendant. The monetary damages are intended to cover the cost of injuries and loss of quality of life, and other expenses.

Damages

Medical malpractice cases can be complicated and require expert testimony. The attorney for the plaintiff must show that the doctor's negligence caused him to not adhere to a standard of care, and that the negligence resulted in injury, and that this injury resulted in damages. The plaintiff must also prove that the injury was measurable in monetary terms.

Medical negligence cases are among the most complex and costly legal actions to bring. To cut down on the high costs of lawsuits, states have enacted tort reforms aimed at enhancing efficiency in limiting frivolous claims, and compensating injured parties fairly. These measures include limiting what plaintiffs can receive for pain and suffering, and limiting the number defendants who are responsible for paying an award, and requiring arbitration or mediation.

Many malpractice cases also involve complicated technical issues, which are difficult to comprehend by juries and judges. This is why experts are important in these cases. For example in the event that a surgeon makes a mistake during a surgery, the patient's lawyer must hire an orthopedic specialist to explain how that specific error could not have happened had the surgeon acted in accordance with relevant medical standards of care.