Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

Malpractice litigation is a complicated process. If a patient can demonstrate four factors, it will determine whether or not the error is malpractice. These are: a professional obligation; a breach of that obligation; an injury that results from the breach; and quantifiable damages.

Plaintiffs must also prove the elements using evidence, such as expert testimony and depositions.

Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose

A physician's inability to accurately diagnose an illness or injury could result in serious complications or even death. Misdiagnosis is a common cause of medical negligence. To prove negligence the patient or their attorney must show that a competent physician under similar circumstances and working in the same field would not have misdiagnosed the problem.

Not every misdiagnosis is an error, but. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors can make errors. Therefore, any claim for malpractice must be supported with other elements, such as breach, proximate causes and actual injury. For instance the case where a physician fails to properly sterilize their equipment prior to giving anesthesia and the patient develops an infection because of it the doctor could be found to be negligent.

Lawsuits that claim malpractice are usually filed in state trial courts where the alleged malpractice took place. Federal courts could be able to handle the case in certain circumstances. For instance, a case could be filed in federal court in the event of an issue regarding a statute of limitations or if there is a substantial variety of citizenship among the parties involved in the case. Some claims can be resolved through binding arbitration that is voluntary. This is a less formal procedure that involves professional decision makers. It is designed to reduce costs, expedite the legal process, and reduce the risk that comes with generous juries. Arbitration is not available in all instances of malpractice.

Dosage of a drug that is incorrect

Medication errors, also known as medication errors are among the main causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can result from a doctor writing a prescription incorrectly or administering the wrong dosage to patients. These mistakes are usually avoidable. Based on the circumstances, a pharmacy, a hospital or other health care provider could be held accountable for the injuries caused by an individual who took the wrong dose of a medication.

A doctor might prescribe the wrong drug because of a misdiagnosis or by simply failing to read the prescription. A health care professional could also administer the wrong dosage due to an inability to communicate for instance, when a nurse reads the handwritten prescription of a doctor incorrectly or the pharmacist makes a mistake in filling the prescription. In other situations, a physician might delay the administration of the correct medication to the patient, resulting in their condition worsening.

To prevail in a Palmdale malpractice attorney case, a victim must show that the medical professional violated their standard of care, and that the negligence directly contributed to the injuries. This requires medical experts to be able to testify. Additionally, a medical malpractice claim must establish the extent of the victim's injuries as well as the damages they suffered because of the negligence. This includes the cost of treatment as well as any lost wages. The greater person's losses are and the greater the value of the claim will be.

Unskillful Procedure

This type of incident is not unusual. It might seem impossible for medical professionals to carry out the wrong procedure on patients but it's true. A surgeon who commits this error may be held responsible for negligence. However, a patient who is injured due to a surgical error could also be held responsible for any negligence that occurred on the way to the procedure.

Any health professional who is accused of misconduct must prove that the patient was injured through a specific act or inaction. To prove this, the patient's legal team must demonstrate that: (1) the doctor had a duty to provide care or treatment; (2) that the doctor breached this duty; (3) that there is a direct causal link between the breach and the injury and (4) that the injury causes damages that the legal system is able to resolve.

A breach of the duty of care is meaningless unless it causes injury, this is why medical malpractice lawsuits are generally based on a legal doctrine known as "res ipsa loquitur." This law says that, in a lot of instances certain injuries are obvious and evident that they are only explained by negligence.

Depending on the facts, the plaintiff (the person who filed the claim, or their legal representative) or their lawyer can decide to file a lawsuit in state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state court, however in certain circumstances medical malpractice lawsuits can be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

Surgery performed on the wrong site is a very rare error, but it may be considered medical malpractice if the procedure is carried out on the wrong portion of the body. This type of error is usually caused by a lack of communication between the surgical team, or pressures in the production process that result in the surgeon performing multiple surgeries at once. In these cases, the surgeon is not the only one with responsibility for a surgical error that is not performed correctly since there is a legal principle called "res ipsa loquitur" which means that the outcome of the error is evident and can only be attributed to negligence.

If a patient gets injured due to surgery performed on the wrong site and is injured, they may require additional procedures to fix issues that were caused by the surgical error. This leads to costly medical expenses for the patient and their families. This expense should be considered when calculating the financial consequences of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Surgeons are usually held liable for surgical errors since they are the ones who are responsible for properly getting ready for the procedure and double-checking the patient's medical chart and medical records, coordinating effectively with other members of the medical team, and making sure the incision is done at the correct place. In some cases hospitals or anesthesiologists can also be held liable. Medical elizabethtown malpractice law firm claims are usually filed in state courts, but under certain circumstances they may be transferred to federal courts.