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Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Physicians worry about malpractice lawsuits as real threats. They can increase insurance costs and can alter the practice of medicine.

In general, doctors are under obligations to their patients to adhere to accepted medical practices. This is referred to as the standard of care.

To successfully claim a doctor's malpractice, an aggrieved patient must be able to prove each of the following legal elements with a preponderance of evidence: duty; breach of duty; causation; damages.

Duty of Care

The primary element of a medical malpractice claim is that the injured party was legally obligated by the doctor that was breached. In contrast to other types of negligence cases, medical malpractice claims often involve the existence of a relationship between doctor and patient. This can be established by means like doctor's records or phone consultations. In general, physicians who treat patients must adhere to accepted standards in their profession and practice.

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

The next thing the plaintiff must prove is that the defendant failed to meet the standards of care in the circumstances. This element can be proven by expert testimony regarding acceptable medical malpractice attorneys practices and the defendant's failure to follow these standards. The second element of malpractice is that the breach directly caused harm to the patient. To prove this your lawyer must prove an immediate cause and effect between the defendant's omission of duty and your injury or loved one's wrongful death. This concept is known as the proximate cause. For instance, if the negligent treatment claimed to be negligent did not have an adverse effect on your health, regardless of whether or not it was performed by a physician, you will not be able claim damages for any injuries, or wrongful death, that were allegedly caused by the doctor's actions.

Breach of Duty

A physician who fails to meet their duty of care towards a client can be held liable for negligence. In order to prevail in a medical malpractice case, the injured patient must prove four legal elements that a duty of care or professional care was in place and the doctor violated this duty; the breach caused injury; and the result caused damages. The first element of a medical malpractice claim is the standard of care, which is determined by experts' testimony. The standard of care is defined as the things that is what a "reasonably prudent" doctor would do in the same or similar circumstances.

The physician's violation of this duty is when he or she is not following the standard of care in giving treatment to the patient. If a physician fractures the arm of a patient, he or she may fail to cast the patient correctly. A breach by the doctor causes the injured arm to heal incorrectly. This could lead to either a complete or partial loss of use, and monetary damages.

Medical malpractice cases are filed in state trial courts. However, under certain conditions 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 is able to hear medical malpractice cases. A majority of states have a system of state courts that deal with these cases. However, they follow different rules for court procedures than federal district courts.

Causation

Doctors swear to do no harm, and should they violate this duty and cause harm, the patient may be entitled to compensation for damages. A medical malpractice claim may occur when a physician opts to carry out a procedure which has known risks and the patient would have opted to not undergo the procedure if fully informed of the potential consequences.

The plaintiff in a medical malpractice case must prove that the doctor did not adhere to accepted guidelines for practice, and that this failure was a direct cause of the injury or illness the patient was suffering from and that the harm could not have occurred except because of the negligence of the doctor. This burden of proof is also 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 proceedings. If the case settles or goes to trial, attorneys from both sides spend significant time and resources preparing for the issue. This is one reason why malpractice claims are expensive for both the patient and the doctor involved. It is one of the main reasons that health care professionals and physicians organizations support efforts to change tort law in the United States.

Damages

Victims may be awarded compensation or punitive damages based on the nature of medical negligence. Compensation damages are awarded to compensate the patient for the financial loss or costs resulting from the negligence of the doctor. This includes the loss of income as well as future medical expenses. Non-economic damages include compensation for mental and physical stress.

Medical malpractice claims are usually filed in a state court of trial. There are certain situations in which an action can be filed in federal courts. This is typically where a physician is employed by an institution that is funded by federal funds such as the Veteran's Administration, or when the doctor is from another country, but is working in the United States under a treaty of extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Lawsuits alleging medical malpractice law firms malpractice are usually adversarial and require an extensive legal discovery. This includes written interrogatories and depositions as well as requests for documents. Victims of alleged medical malpractice could also be subject to the stress of a jury trial and may face the threat of being rejected by a judge or dismissed by a jury.

To win a medical malpractice claim, you must prove that the error or negligence of a medical professional caused your injury. The harm must be serious enough that a monetary award is sufficient to cover your financial losses as well as emotional trauma. In addition, New York medical malpractice laws have specific damage caps as well as other limits on the amount which can be awarded to a patient who is successful in filing a claim.