Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Physicians worry about malpractice lawsuits as an actual threat. They increase insurance costs and can alter medical practice.

In general doctors owe their patients the obligation to follow the accepted charlotte medical malpractice lawyer practice without any deviation or omission. This is known as the standard of care.

To sue a physician for malpractice, a patient must demonstrate the following elements with a majority: breach of duty, duty of duty, causation and damages.

Duty of Care

The first element in a Germantown medical malpractice lawsuit malpractice case is that the injured person was owed a doctor's duty which was not fulfilled. Medical malpractice claims differ from other types of negligence cases because they typically involve a patient-physician relationship, which can be established by documents from a doctor or phone consultations. In general, physicians who treat their patients must adhere to the accepted standards in their profession and practice.

However, doctors could also be accountable for the wrongful actions of their staff members, such as assistants or interns. In addition, they could be held accountable for the actions of emergency medical personnel under their supervision.

The next element that a plaintiff must prove is that the defendant failed to satisfy the standard of medical care under the circumstances. This can only be proven with expert testimony about acceptable medical practices, and the defendant's failure comply with these standards. The second aspect of malpractice is that this breach directly caused harm to the patient. To prove malpractice your lawyer needs to prove that the defendant's breach of duty directly caused your injury or the death of a loved one. This is called proximate cause. For instance, if the alleged negligent treatment did not have a negative effect on your health, irrespective of whether or not it was done, you won't be able win damages for any injuries or death that was allegedly cause by the physician's behavior.

Breach of Duty

A physician who fails to meet their obligation of care to a client can be held responsible for negligence. To win a medical negligence lawsuit the person who suffered must prove four things: that there was a duty of care, that the physician breached the obligation, that the breach caused injury and finally the injury caused damage. The first aspect of a medical malpractice case revolves around the standard of care which is determined through expert testimony. The standard of care is the amount an "reasonably cautious" doctor would do under similar or similar circumstances.

The physician's breach of this duty is when he or she violates the standard of care in providing treatment to the patient. For instance, if the doctor breaks the arm of a patient, the doctor isn't able to properly set it or fails to cast the broken arm. A breach by the doctor causes the broken arm to heal improperly. This could lead to the loss of use, either in whole or in part of use, as well as financial damages.

Medical malpractice cases are brought in state trial courts, however under certain conditions federal courts can also take on these cases. Each of the 94 federal district courts in the United States has a judge-jury panel that is able to hear medical malpractice cases. The majority of states have state courts that specialize in these cases, but with different court procedures than federal district courts.

Causation

Doctors swear to avoid harm, and should they violate that duty and cause injury patients may be entitled to compensation for the damages. A medical malpractice claim can also be brought when a doctor is performing a procedure that has known risks, and the patient wouldn't have agreed to the procedure if they had been fully informed.

The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit must show that the doctor failed to adhere to accepted standards of practice, that the doctor's negligence was the primary cause of the injury or illness the patient suffered, and that the injury would not have occurred but because of the negligence of the doctor. This burden of proof is known as the "preponderance of the evidence" standard which is less stringent than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard to convict criminal defendants.

Lawsuits alleging medical malpractice often require expert testimony and lengthy pretrial discovery processes. Both sides invest a significant amount of time and resources in the preparation of a case, whether it is settled or if it is a court case. This is one reason why malpractice claims are expensive for both the patient and the doctor affected, and is one of the main reasons that doctors and health care organizations support efforts to change tort law in the United States.

Damages

Victims can receive compensatory or punitive damages, based on the nature of medical malpractice. Compensation damages are awarded to compensate the patient for the financial loss or costs resulting from the doctor's negligence. This includes income loss and future medical expenses. Non-economic damages could include compensation for mental and physical stress.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are filed in state trial courts. There are a few instances where an action can be filed in federal courts. It is usually the case when doctors are employed by a federally funded clinic such as the Veteran's Administration or when the doctor is a resident of another country but is practicing in the United States as part of a treaty with extraterritorial authority.

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 malpractice will also have to bear the stress of an open jury trial and could face the threat of being denied their claim by a judge or rejected by jurors.

You must establish that medical negligence or mistake caused the injury you suffered to win a lawsuit for medical malpractice. The damage must be serious enough that a financial award will significantly compensate for your financial losses as well as emotional pain. Furthermore, New York medical malpractice laws have damage caps and other limits on the amount that can be awarded to a person who has a successful claim.