• 목록
• 답변
• 글쓰기
• 게시판 리스트 옵션
  • 수정
  • 삭제

Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Malpractice lawsuits are a real and feared threat for physicians. They increase insurance costs and can alter the practice of medicine.

In general doctors owe patients the obligation to follow the accepted medical practice without any deviation or infraction. This is referred to as the "standard of care.

To sue a physician over malpractice, the patient must be able to prove the following elements by a preponderance: duty, breach of duty, causation and damages.

Duty of Care

The first aspect of a claim for medical malpractice is that the person who was injured was obliged to perform a duty by the doctor that was breached. Medical malpractice claims differ from other types of negligence cases because they often involve a physician-patient relationship, which is established by documents from a doctor or phone consultations. In general, doctors who treat patients must follow the standards that are accepted in their profession and practice.

Doctors could 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 under their supervision.

The plaintiff must then show that the defendant's conduct did not meet the standard care under the circumstances. This is only proven through expert testimony about acceptable medical practices and the defendant's reluctance to comply with these guidelines. The second element is that the breach directly affected the patient. To prove this your lawyer must establish that there is a direct link and causal relationship between the defendant's breach of duty and your injury, or your loved one's wrongful death. This is referred to as proximate causation. For example, if the alleged negligent treatment wouldn't have had a negative effect on your health irrespective whether it was performed or not, you wouldn't be able to claim damages for any injuries or wrongful deaths that were allegedly caused by the physician's conduct.

Breach of Duty

A physician who fails to meet his or her obligation of professional care to a patient may be held accountable for negligence. To win a medical negligence lawsuit the victim must establish four elements: a duty of care existed and that the doctor breached the duty and the breach caused injury, and finally resulted in damages. The standard of care is the primary element in a medical malpractice case, and is determined by an expert's testimony. The standard of care is what a "reasonably prudent" doctor would do under similar or identical circumstances.

A physician is in breach of this duty when he or she deviates from the norm of care while treating the patient. If a doctor fractures the arm of a patient, he or she may fail to cast the patient correctly. A breach by the doctor causes the broken arm to heal in a wrong way. This could result in a partial or complete loss of use and financial damages.

Medical malpractice cases are filed in state trial courts, although under certain conditions federal courts may take on these cases. The 94 federal district courts across the United States each have a judge and jury panel that is responsible for hearing these cases. A majority of states have a system of state courts that are specialized to handle these cases, though they follow different rules for court procedure than federal district courts.

Causation

A patient could be entitled to compensation for the damages caused if a physician fails to fulfill their duty to do no harm. A altoona medical malpractice lawsuit malpractice lawsuit could occur when a physician chooses to perform a treatment that has risks and the patient would not have opted out of the procedure if they had been fully informed of the potential consequences.

In a medical malpractice case the plaintiff must show that the doctor's actions were not in accordance with accepted standards of practice. This negligence must have been the direct cause of any illness or injury suffered by the patient, and the injury could not occur if it weren't because of the doctor's negligence. This burden of proof, referred to as "preponderance" of the evidence is less stringent than "beyond reasonable doubt" that is required to convict criminal defendants.

Legal actions claiming medical malpractice typically require expert testimony and lengthy pretrial discovery proceedings. Whether the case is settled or goes to trial, the lawyers on both sides have to spend significant time and resources preparing for the matter. This is one of the main reasons why malpractice claims are so costly to both the plaintiff and the physician involved, and it is one of the main reasons that doctors and health care organizations support efforts to reform tort law in the United States.

Damages

Depending on the type of medical negligence, victims may be able to recover punitive and compensatory damages. Compensatory damages compensate patients for the financial losses and expenses due to the negligence of the doctor which includes loss of income or the cost of future medical care. Non-economic damages include compensation for physical pain as well as mental anguish.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are filed in state trial courts. There are instances when the lawsuit may be filed in federal courts. This is usually the situation when a doctor is employed by a federally funded clinic like the Veteran's administration, or when the doctor is from 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 can include written interrogatories and depositions as well as requests for documents. Victims of alleged medical malpractice might also have to deal with the stress of a jury trial and may face the threat of having their claim rejected by a judge, or dismissed by the jury.

You must establish that medical negligence or mistake caused your injury in order to be awarded an action for medical malpractice. The damage must be serious enough that a cash award will significantly compensate for your financial losses as well as emotional trauma. In addition, New York bisbee medical malpractice attorney malpractice laws provide for damage caps and other limits on the amount that can be awarded to a patient who is successful in filing a claim.