Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Malpractice lawsuits are a real and serious threat to doctors. They could increase the cost of insurance for doctors and alter medical practice.

In general doctors owe their patients the duty to uphold accepted medical practices without deviation or infraction. This is referred to as the standard of care.

To successfully to sue a doctor for malpractice, an aggrieved patient must be able to prove each of the following legal elements by the preponderance evidence: duty; breach of duty, causation, and damages.

Duty of Care

The first element in a medical malpractice case is that the victim was owed a duty by a doctor that was not met. Medical malpractice claims are different from other negligence cases because they typically involve a patient-physician relationship, which is established by documents from a doctor or telephone consultations. In general, doctors who treat patients must follow the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

Doctors could be held accountable for the incompetence or negligence of their staff, such as interns or assistants. Furthermore, they can be held accountable for the actions of emergency medical personnel under their supervision.

The next element a plaintiff needs to establish is that the defendant failed to satisfy the standard of medical care in the specific circumstances. This can be established through expert testimony on acceptable medical practices and the defendant's inability to follow these guidelines. The other element is that the breach directly hurts the patient. To prove that you have committed a crime the lawyer you hire to show that the breach of duty by the defendant directly caused your injury or death of a loved one. This is referred to as causal proximate. For instance, if the alleged negligent treatment would not have had an adverse impact on your health, regardless of whether or not it was performed by a physician, you will not be able get compensation for any injuries, or even wrongful death, that were allegedly cause by the physician's behavior.

Breach of Duty

A doctor who does not fulfill their obligation of care to the client may be held responsible for negligence. To be successful in a medical malpractice case, the injured patient must prove four legal aspects that a duty of professional care was owed and the doctor violated this obligation; the breach led to injury; and the injury led to damages. The primary element of a claim for medical malpractice revolves around the standard of care, which is determined by expert testimony. The standard of care is the amount an "reasonably cautious" doctor would do in similar or identical circumstances.

The physician's violation of this obligation occurs when he or she is not following the standard of care while providing treatment to the patient. For instance, if the physician breaks a patient's arm, the doctor isn't able to properly set it or fails to cast the broken arm. A doctor's error can cause the broken arm to heal improperly. This could lead to a partial or complete loss of use, as well as financial damages.

Medical malpractice cases are brought in state trial courts, however under certain conditions federal courts are also able to hear these claims. The 94 federal district courts across the United States each have a jury and judge panel that hears these cases. The majority of states have state courts that are specialized to handle these matters, albeit with different rules of court procedure than federal district courts.

Causation

Physicians take an oath to do no harm, and if they fail in their duty to uphold that duty and cause injury the patient could be entitled to compensation for the damages. Medical malpractice claims could also arise if the doctor performs a treatment with known risks, and the patient would not have consented to the procedure if they had been fully informed.

The plaintiff in a case of medical malpractice must show that the doctor failed to adhere to accepted guidelines for practice, and that this failure was a direct cause for the injury or illness the patient suffered, and that the injury could not have occurred except for the physician's negligence. This burden of proof is known as the "preponderance of evidence" standard that is less arduous than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits typically require expert witness testimony as well as lengthy discovery procedures prior to trial. Both sides invest a significant amount of time and money preparing for a case, whether it's settled or if it goes to court. This is why malpractice lawsuits can be expensive for both the plaintiff and physician involved. It is one of the primary reasons why doctors and health groups are supportive of efforts to reform tort laws in the United States.

Damages

Victims may be awarded compensatory or punitive damages, lawsuit based on the nature of medical negligence. Compensation damages compensate the victim for the financial loss or costs resulting from the negligence of the doctor. This includes loss of income and future desoto medical malpractice attorney expenses. Non-economic damages can include compensation for mental and physical anxiety.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are filed in state trial courts. However, there are certain situations where a lawsuit could be filed in federal court. This is usually the case where a doctor is employed by a federally funded clinic such as the Veteran's Administration, or if the doctor is from another country, but is working in the United States under a treaty of extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are adversarial and require extensive legal discovery. This includes depositions, written interrogatories and requests for production of documents. Victims of alleged medical negligence also may have to endure the pressure of a jury trial and may be in danger of having their claim dismissed by a judge or rejected by jurors.

You must establish that medical negligence or mistake caused your injury to be able to make a lawsuit for medical malpractice. The harm must be serious enough that a financial award is sufficient to cover your financial losses and emotional pain. New York medical malpractice law also has specific damage caps, as well as limits to the amount that an individual patient could be awarded when they are successful in bringing an claim.