How To Explain Medical Malpractice Lawsuit To A Five-Year-Old

Making Medical Malpractice Legal

Medical malpractice is a highly specialized legal area. Physicians should take steps to protect themselves against the risk of liability by obtaining a sufficient medical malpractice insurance coverage.

Patients must show that the doctor's breach of duty caused injury to them, and damages are dependent on the actual economic losses such as lost income, the cost of future medical procedures, in addition to noneconomic loss such as pain and suffering.

Duty of care

The first element that medical malpractice lawyers need to establish in a case is the duty of care. All healthcare professionals have a responsibility towards their patients to perform in accordance with the standard of care that is applicable in their field. This includes doctors and nurses as in addition to other medical professionals. It also includes assistants as well as interns and medical students working under the supervision of an attending doctor or physician.

The standard of care is established by an expert medical witness in the court. They examine the medical records and compare them with the standards of care a competent doctor in the same field would be doing under similar circumstances.

If the healthcare professional's actions or lack of actions fell short of this standard, they have violated their duty of care and caused injury. The patient who was injured must show that the breach of care by the healthcare professional directly led to their losses. This can include scarring injury, or pain. This could include medical expenses along with lost wages and other financial losses.

If a surgeon removes a surgical instrument inside a patient after surgery, this can cause discomfort or other issues which could lead to damage. Medical malpractice lawyers can establish through the testimony of an expert in medical practice that the surgical team's negligence resulted in these damages. This is referred to as direct causality. The patient must also show evidence of their damages.

Breach of duty

When a medical professional deviates from the accepted standard of care and this deviation causes an injury to the patient A malpractice claim can be filed. The injured party must show that the doctor acted in breach of their duty of caring by providing care that was inadequate. The doctor was in a negligent manner, and this caused the patient to suffer harm.

To prove that a physician violated their duty of care, a skilled attorney has to present expert evidence to prove that the defendant failed to possess or exercise the degree of skill and knowledge held by doctors in their field of expertise. The plaintiff should also prove that there is a direct connection between the alleged negligence, and the resulting injuries. This is known as causation.

Furthermore, the injured plaintiff must show that they would not have chosen the course of treatment if they had been adequately informed. This is also known as the principle of informed permission. Physicians have a duty to inform patients of potential risks or complications that could arise from the procedure prior to performing surgery or put the patient under anesthesia.

The statute of limitations is a time period that must be met by the patient who was injured to pursue a claim for medical malpractice. No matter how grave the error of the health care provider or how seriously the patient has been injured, a judge will almost always dismiss any claim filed after statute of limitations has expired. Certain states require that parties to a medical malpractice lawsuit submit their claims to an independent screening panel or to voluntary binding arbitration in lieu of a trial.

Causation

Medical malpractice cases require significant investment of time and funds, both for physicians involved in the litigation as well as their lawyers. The process of proving that doctors' treatment differed from the accepted norm requires a thorough review of records, interviews with witnesses, and a thorough analysis of medical literature. Furthermore, lawsuits must be filed within a certain period of time that is set by law. Generally, this deadline--called the statute of limitations--begins to expire when the medical malpractice occurred or when the patient discovered (or should have known in the eyes of the law) that they were harmed by a physician's mistake.

The proof of causation is one the four main elements of a medical malpractice claim and perhaps the most difficult to prove. A lawyer must demonstrate that a doctor's failure to fulfill the duty of care caused injury to a patient, and that the injury wouldn't have occurred had it not been for the physician’s negligence. This is known as actual or proximate cause. The legal standard to prove this element differs from that of criminal cases, in which the proof must be beyond a reasonable doubt.

If a lawyer can prove these three elements that the victim of malpractice may be entitled to financial compensation. The purpose of these monetary damages is to compensate the victim for injuries and loss of quality of life, and other damages.

Damages

Medical malpractice cases are typically complex and require extensive expert testimony. The lawyer representing the plaintiff must prove that the doctor's negligence caused him to not meet a standard of care, and that the negligence caused injury, and that such injury caused damages. The plaintiff also needs to prove that the injury was quantifiable in monetary terms.

Medical negligence claims are among the most complicated and costly legal actions to bring. To cut down on the high cost of litigation, a number of states have introduced tort reform measures that aim to improve efficiency, decrease frivolous claims, and pay the injured fairly. Some of these measures include reducing the amount that plaintiffs may get for suffering and pain and limiting the number of defendants who are responsible for the payment of an award (joint and multiple liability) and having arbitration, mediation or the submission of claims to a panel for review prior to trial; and imposing limits on the amount of damages awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.

In addition, many malpractice claims are highly technical issues that are difficult for judges and juries to comprehend. Experts are essential in these cases. For example the case where a surgeon has made an error during surgery the patient's lawyer needs to employ an orthopedic expert to explain why the specific error medical malpractice lawyers could not have happened should the surgeon have acted in accordance with the relevant medical guidelines of care.