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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 may alter the medical practice.

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

To successfully bring a lawsuit against a doctor who has committed malpractice, the patient must demonstrate each of the following legal elements with a preponderance of the evidence: breach of duty, causation, and damages.

Duty of Care

The first element of a medical malpractice case is that the party who suffered was owed a duty by the doctor who was not fulfilled. Medical malpractice cases differ from other negligence claims in that they usually involve a physician-patient relation, which can be established through things like doctor's records or telephone consultations. Generally, physicians who treat patients must adhere to the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

Doctors may also be held accountable for the negligence or incompetence of their staff, for example, assistants or interns. They can also be held accountable for the actions of emergency personnel who are under their supervision.

The next thing that a plaintiff has to prove is that the defendant did not adhere to the standard of care in the circumstances. This is a fact that can be demonstrated by expert testimony regarding acceptable medical practices and the defendant's refusal to comply with these standards. The second element is that the breach directly hurts the patient. To prove malpractice, your lawyer will need to prove that the breach of duty by the defendant directly caused your injury or the wrongful death of a loved one. This concept is known as the proximate cause. If, for example, the alleged negligent act did not have a negative effect on your health, irrespective of whether or not it was done or not, medical malpractice you aren't able to get compensation for any injuries, or even wrongful death that was allegedly cause by the physician's behavior.

Breach of Duty

Physicians who fail to meet his or her obligation of professional care to a patient can be held accountable for negligence. In order to succeed in a medical negligence lawsuit, the injured person must prove four legal elements that a duty of care or professional care was in place and the doctor breached this obligation; the breach led to injuries; and the damage was a cause of damages. The first part of a medical malpractice lawsuit revolves around the standard of care, which is determined by experts' testimony. The standard of care is what a "reasonably prudent" doctor would do under similar or similar circumstances.

A physician breaches this duty in the event that he or she departs from the norm of care while treating the patient. If a physician fractures the arm of a patient he or she may fail to cast it correctly. The doctor's lapse in duty causes the injured arm to heal improperly, which results in partial or full loss of use, and further financial damages.

Medical malpractice cases are brought in state trial courts, however under certain conditions, federal courts may 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. The majority of states have a system of state courts that are specialized to handle the cases, although they have different rules of court procedure than federal district courts.

Causation

Doctors swear to protect their patients and should they violate the oath and cause injury the patient could be entitled to compensation for any damages. A medical malpractice lawsuit could be brought up when a doctor chooses to perform a treatment that has risks and the patient would not have opted out of the procedure if fully informed of the possible consequences.

In a medical malpractice lawsuit, the plaintiff must prove that the doctor's actions were not in accordance with accepted standards of practice. This failure must have been the direct cause of any injury or illness sustained by the patient and the injury would not be the case if it wasn't for the physician’s negligence. This burden of proof is referred to as the "preponderance of the evidence" standard which is less stringent than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard that is required to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits often involve expert witness testimony and lengthy discovery procedures prior to trial. Whether the case is settled or goes to trial, the attorneys on both sides invest an enormous amount of time and effort preparing for the issue. This is why malpractice lawsuits can be costly for both the physician and the plaintiff involved. It is also one of the main reasons why doctors and health care organizations support efforts to reform the tort laws in the United States.

Damages

Victims can receive compensatory or punitive damages, based on the type of medical negligence. Compensatory damages pay for monetary losses and expenses resulted from the negligence of the doctor like loss of income or cost of future medical treatments. Non-economic damages are the payment of physical pain and mental anxiety.

Medical malpractice claims are filed in state trial courts. However, there are instances where a suit could be filed in federal court. This is usually the situation when doctors are employed by a federally-funded medical clinic such as the Veteran's Administration or in the case of a doctor who is from another country but practices in the United States as part of an agreement with extraterritorial authority.

Legal actions involving nashville medical malpractice lawsuit malpractice are mostly adversarial and require large amounts of legal discovery. This may include written interrogatories as well as depositions, as well as requests for documents. The victims of medical negligence might also have to stand trial before a jury, and face the possibility that their claim will be rejected by a court or dismissed by a jury.

To be successful in a medical malfeasance claim, you must prove that the medical negligence or error caused your injury. The damage must be serious enough that a financial settlement will substantially compensate for your financial losses as well as emotional trauma. New York medical malpractice law also has specific damage caps, and other limitations on the amount patients can be awarded after proving claims.