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Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Malpractice lawsuits are a real and serious threat to doctors. They can increase insurance costs and can affect the medical practice.

In general doctors owe patients the obligation to follow the accepted medical practices, without deviation or exclusion. This is referred to as the "standard of care.

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

Duty of Care

The first thing to consider in a medical malpractice case is that the injured person was owed a duty to a doctor which was not fulfilled. In contrast to other types of negligence cases medical malpractice claims typically involve the existence of a physician-patient relationship, which can be established through things like a doctor's records and telephone consultations. In general, doctors who treat their patients must adhere to accepted standards in their profession and practice.

Doctors can also be held accountable for the negligence or incompetence of their staff members, for example, assistants or interns. In addition, they could be held accountable for the actions of emergency medical personnel under their supervision.

The next element the plaintiff must prove is that the defendant did not adhere to the standard of care in the circumstances. This element can only be proven with expert testimony about acceptable medical practices and the defendant's inability to follow these standards. The second aspect is that the breach directly hurts the patient. To prove this your lawyer must demonstrate the direct causality and impact between the defendant's failure to perform his duty and your injuries or loved one's death. This is referred to as causal proximate. If, for example, the alleged negligent treatment could not have had an adverse impact on your health, regardless of whether or not it was performed or not, you aren't able to win damages for any injuries, or even wrongful death, that you believe was cause by the physician's behavior.

Breach of Duty

A physician who fails to meet his or her obligation of professional care to a patient could be held accountable for negligence. To prevail in a medical malpractice case, the injured party must prove four elements: that there was a duty of care and the doctor breached the duty and that the breach caused injury and finally the injury resulted in damages. The first element of a claim for medical malpractice is the standard of care, which is determined by expert testimony. The standard of care is defined as the things that would a "reasonably prudent" doctor would do in the same or similar circumstances.

The physician's breach of this duty occurs when he/she is not following the standard of care when providing treatment to the patient. For instance, when a doctor breaks the arm of a patient and is not able to properly set the arm or fails to cast the broken arm. A breach by the doctor causes the broken arm to heal improperly. This can lead to a partial or complete loss of use and financial damages.

Medical malpractice cases are brought in state trial courts. However, in certain circumstances federal courts can also be able to hear these cases. Each of the 94 federal district courts in the United States has a judge-jury panel that will hear medical malpractice cases. A majority of states have special state courts that deal with these matters, albeit with different rules of court procedure than federal district courts.

Causation

A patient may be entitled compensation for any damages suffered by medical professionals fail to perform their obligation to not cause harm. A medical malpractice claim may occur when a physician decides to perform a procedure that carries known risks, and the patient would have opted to not undergo the procedure had they been fully informed of the potential consequences.

The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit must prove that the medical professional failed to act in accordance with accepted guidelines for practice, and that the failure was the direct cause of the injury or illness the patient suffered and that the harm could not have occurred if it weren't because of the negligence of the doctor. This burden of proof is known as the "preponderance of the evidence" standard that is less stringent than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard that is required to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits typically require expert witness testimony and long discovery procedures prior to trial. Both sides spend a lot of time and resources in preparing for a case, whether it's settled or if it goes to court. This is a major reason why malpractice claims are so costly to both the patient and the doctor involved, and is one of the reasons that doctors and health care organizations support efforts to reform tort law in the United States.

Damages

Depending on the kind of Medical malpractice law firm negligence, victims can recover compensatory and punitive damages. Compensation damages compensate the patient for the monetary losses or expenses caused by the negligence of the doctor. This includes the loss of income as well as future medical expenses. Non-economic damages are the payment of physical pain and mental anxiety.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are typically filed in a state trial court. However, there are some instances where a lawsuit could be filed in federal court. It's usually the case when a doctor is employed by a federally-funded clinic, like the Veteran's administration or in the case of a doctor who is from other country, but practices in the United States as part of an agreement that confers extraterritorial authority.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are adversarial and require extensive legal discovery. This includes depositions, written interrogatories and requests for production of documents. The victims of medical negligence may also be required to face a jury trial and may be in danger that their claim will be rejected by a court or dismissed by a juror.

You must prove that medical negligence, or error was the cause of your injury in order to be awarded a case for medical negligence. The injury must be severe enough to warrant a monetary payment that will compensate you for your financial losses and emotional distress. New York medical malpractice law also has damage caps, and other limitations on the amount a patient can receive when they are successful in bringing an appeal.