15 Up-And-Coming Trends About Medical Malpractice Litigation

Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Malpractice lawsuits are a serious and serious threat to doctors. They can increase the cost of insurance for doctors and alter the way they practice medicine.

In general, doctors owe patients the duty to uphold the medical standards that are accepted without any deviation or omission. This is called the standard of care.

To successfully to sue a doctor for negligence, the patient must demonstrate each of the following legal elements with a preponderance of evidence: breach of duty, breach of duty; causation; damages.

Duty of Care

The primary element in a medical malpractice case is that the person who was injured was owed a duty by a doctor which was not fulfilled. Medical malpractice claims are different from other types of negligence cases in that they usually involve a physician-patient relation, which can be established through things like doctor's records or telephone consultations. In general, doctors who treat patients must adhere to the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

Doctors may also be held responsible for the negligence or incompetence of their staff members, like assistants or interns. In addition, Medical malpractice lawsuits they could be held liable for the actions of emergency medical personnel under their supervision.

The next thing that a plaintiff has to prove is that the defendant did not adhere to the standard of care under the circumstances. This can be proved through expert testimony on acceptable medical practices and the defendant's failure to follow these standards. The second aspect of malpractice is that the breach directly caused harm to the patient. To prove this your lawyer must establish an immediate cause and effect between the defendant's dereliction of duty and your injury or loved one's untimely death. This is referred to as the proximate cause. If, for instance the negligent treatment you claim to have received was not able to have an adverse effect on your health, irrespective of whether or not it was done by a physician, you will not be able claim damages for any injuries, or even wrongful death that was allegedly caused by the doctor's conduct.

Breach of Duty

A physician who fails to meet his or her obligation of professional care to a patient could be held accountable for negligent behavior. To be successful in a medical malpractice case, the victim must prove four legal aspects that a duty of care or professional care was owed and the doctor violated this obligation; the breach led to injury; and the result was a cause of damages. The standard of care is the main aspect in a medical malpractice case, and is determined by expert testimony. The standard of care is defined as what an "reasonably prudent" doctor would perform in the same or similar circumstances.

The breach of this obligation occurs when he or she does not adhere to the standard of care when providing treatment to the patient. For instance, if a doctor breaks a patient's arm when he does not correctly set it or fails to cast the broken arm. The doctor's lapse in duty causes the broken arm to heal improperly, resulting in the complete or partial loss of use and monetary damages.

In the majority of instances, medical malpractice lawsuits are filed with state trial courts. However in certain circumstances, 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 handles medical malpractice cases. The majority of states have a special system of state courts that handle the issues. They do however, follow 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, a patient may be entitled to compensation for the damages. Medical malpractice claims can also arise when the physician performs a procedure that is associated with known risks and the patient wouldn't have agreed to the procedure had they been fully informed.

In a medical malpractice case the plaintiff must demonstrate that the doctor did not act in accordance to accepted standards of practice. This negligence must have been the primary cause of any illness or injury suffered by the patient, and the injury would never have occurred but for the physician’s negligence. This burden of proof is also known as the "preponderance of evidence" standard that is less arduous than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits typically involve expert witnesses and lengthy pre-trial discovery hearings. Both sides spend a lot of time and resources in prepping for a trial, whether it is settled or if it goes to court. This is the reason why malpractice claims are costly for both the plaintiff and physician involved. It is one of the primary reasons why physicians and health care organizations support efforts to change tort laws in the United States.

Damages

Depending on the type of medical negligence, victims may be able to recover punitive and compensatory damages. Compensatory damages pay for monetary losses and expenses resulted from the negligence of the doctor, such as loss of income or cost of future medical treatments. Non-economic damages could include reimbursement for physical and mental stress.

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

Medical malpractice lawsuits are largely adversarial in nature and require large amounts of legal discovery. This can include written interrogatories and depositions as well as requests for documents. Victims of alleged medical negligence could also be subject to the stress of a jury trial and potentially be in danger of having their claim rejected by a judge or dismissed by the jury.

In order to win a medical malpractice lawyers negligence claim, you must show that the medical error or negligence caused your injury. The damage must be severe enough to warrant a monetary settlement that will cover your financial losses and emotional distress. Additionally, New York medical malpractice laws have specific damages caps and other limitations on the amount which can be awarded to a patient who is successful in filing a claim.