Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

The process of bringing a malpractice lawsuit is a complex procedure. Whether or not an error is considered to be malpractice is dependent on whether the patient is able to prove four legal elements which include professional duty; breach of this duty; harm resulted from the breach and the possibility of quantifiable damages.

Plaintiffs must prove these elements through evidence like expert testimony, depositions, or discovery.

Incorrect diagnosis and inability to diagnose

Failure to identify an injury or illness correctly can cause serious complications, or death. A lot of medical malpractice cases involve mistakes in diagnosis. To establish negligence, a patient or their lawyer must prove that a qualified doctor in similar circumstances would not have misdiagnosed a condition.

A misdiagnosis is not always negligence. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors are not immune to mistakes. Therefore, a claim for malpractice must be backed by other factors like breach, proximate cause or actual injury. For instance, if a physician is not careful to clean their equipment prior the time they administer anesthesia, and the patient develops an infection because of it, the doctor could be liable for malpractice.

In most cases, lawsuits alleging malpractice will be filed in the state trial court in which the alleged misconduct occurred. However, federal courts might have jurisdiction under limited circumstances. For instance, a claim may be brought in federal court if there is a dispute over the time limit for filing a claim or if there is a substantial difference in citizenship among the parties in the case. Certain disputes are settled via arbitral arbitration, which is a binding process. This is a less formal procedure with professional decision makers. It is designed to reduce costs, expedite legal proceedings and reduce the possibility of excessively generous juries. Arbitration is not accessible in all cases of malpractice.

Wrong Drug Dosage

Medication mistakes, also referred to as medication errors, are one of the most frequent causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can involve a physician prescribing a prescription in error or delivering the wrong dose to a patient. These mistakes are often avoidable. According to the situation, a pharmacy, a hospital or other health care provider could be held responsible for injuries caused by a patient who was given the wrong dosage of a drug.

A doctor might prescribe the wrong drug because of a misdiagnosis or simply making a mistake in the prescription. A health professional can also administer the wrong dosage due to a lapse in communication. For instance, a nurse may not read a doctor's prescription correctly or a pharmacist could make a mistake when filling the prescription. In other instances the doctor might delay the administration of the correct medication, which could result in the patient's health worsening.

In order to be successful in a malpractice lawsuit, a victim must show that the medical professional acted in breach of their standard of care and that negligence directly caused the injuries. This requires medical expert testimony. Additionally, a medical malpractice case must demonstrate the extent of a victim's injuries and the damage they sustained as a result of the negligence. This includes the cost of treatment for a patient and any wages lost. The greater the loss the greater the value of the claim.

Wrong Procedure

It might seem unlikely that medical professionals would perform the incorrect procedure on a patient but this type of mishap can occur. A surgeon who makes this mistake can be held accountable for malpractice. However the patient who is injured by a surgical mistake can also be held accountable for any negligence that occurred during the path to the procedure.

A medical professional accused of malpractice has to prove that the patient was injured as a result of a specific act, or inability to act. To establish this the legal counsel of the patient must prove that (1) the doctor was bound by a duty to provide care or treatment; (2) that the doctor did not fulfill this duty; (3) that there is a direct causal link between the breach and click to investigate the injury and (4) that the injury causes damages that the legal system can resolve.

A breach of duty of care is no meaning unless it results in injury. This is the reason medical malpractice cases are often dependent on the lawful doctrine "res ipsa locquitur," which states that certain injuries are so obvious they can be explained only by negligence.

Based on the circumstances the plaintiff (the person who filed the claim, or their legal representative) or their lawyer can decide to file a lawsuit in federal or state court. Most malpractice cases are filed in state court, however in certain situations, a medical malpractice lawsuit may be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

The wrong-site surgery is a common mistake, but it could be considered medical malpractice when the procedure is performed on the wrong area of the body. This kind of error is often caused by miscommunication between members of a surgical team or production pressure that leads to an individual surgeon being assigned multiple surgeries at the same time. In these instances, a surgeon is not solely accountable for a mistaken-site operation due to a legal rule known as "res ipsa locquitur" which says that the result speaks for itself and cannot be attributed to negligence.

If a patient is injured during an improper procedure and is injured, they may need additional procedures to correct problems that were made worse by the error. This could result in expensive medical expenses for the patient and their families. This expense should be taken into consideration when calculating the financial consequences of medical malpractice claims.

Surgeons are most often found to be responsible for surgical mistakes because they are the individuals who are responsible for making preparations for the operation and double-checking the patient's medical chart and medical records, communicating effectively with other members of the medical team and making sure the incision is placed at the right place. However, in certain instances an anesthesiologist or hospital may also be held responsible. Medical malpractice attorney claims are usually filed in state courts, however, in certain situations they may be transferred to federal courts.