Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation
Malpractice Lawyers litigation is a complicated procedure. The question of whether or not an error constitutes malpractice depends on the ability of the patient to establish four legal elements which include professional duty breach of this duty; injury caused by the breach and tangible damages.
Plaintiffs must demonstrate these elements with evidence such as expert testimony, depositions, or discovery.
Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose
Failure to diagnose an injury or illness accurately can cause serious complications,
malpractice lawyers or death. It is a typical reason for medical negligence. To prove negligence the patient or their attorney must demonstrate that a competent doctor under similar circumstances and in the same field would not have misdiagnosed the problem.
The misdiagnosis of a patient does not always mean negligence. Even highly experienced and trained doctors are not immune to mistakes. Therefore, a claim for malpractice must be backed up by other elements, such as breach, proximate cause and actual injury. For example the case where a physician is not careful to sterilize their equipment prior to giving anesthesia and the patient develops an infection due to the infection the doctor could be guilty of malpractice.
Lawsuits that claim malpractice are usually filed in state trial courts, where the alleged malpractice took place. Federal courts may be able to handle the case in certain situations. For instance, a case may be brought in federal court if it involves the interpretation of the statute of limitations or when there is a significant variation in the citizenship of the parties to the case. Certain disputes are settled through arbitration that is binding and voluntary. This is a non-formal procedure that is governed by professional decision makers. It is designed to reduce expenses, speed up the legal process, and reduce the risk associated with overly large juries. However, arbitration is not accessible for all malpractice claims.
Wrong Drug Dosage
Medication errors, also referred to as medication errors, are one of the main causes of medical
malpractice lawsuits. They can be caused by a physician prescribing the wrong medication or delivering the wrong dose to patients. These errors are often preventable. According to the situation, a pharmacy, a hospital or other health care provider could be held responsible for the injuries resulting from patients who were given the wrong dosage of a medication.
A doctor may prescribe the wrong medication as a result of a misdiagnosis or by simply not understanding the prescription correctly. A health care provider can also administer the wrong dosage due to a breakdown in communication. For example, a nurse may not read a doctor's prescription correctly or a pharmacist might fail to fill the prescription. In other instances the doctor may delay the administration of the correct medication to the patient, which could result in their condition deteriorating.
To be successful in an action for malpractice, a victim must show that the medical professional violated their standard of care and that the negligence directly contributed to the injuries. This requires testimony from a medical expert. A medical malpractice case also must prove the extent and damage of the victim's injuries. This includes the cost of a person's treatment and any lost wages. The more loss you suffer of the claim, the greater the value of the claim.
Unskillful Procedure
It may seem impossible for medical professionals to perform the wrong procedure on a patient, however, this kind of thing is quite common. The surgeon who makes this mistake could be held accountable for malpractice. Patients who are injured as a result of an error in surgery could be held accountable for any error that occurred during the procedure.
Any health professional who is accused of malpractice must show that the patient was injured by a specific act or failure to act. To establish this, the legal team representing the patient must show: (1) that the doctor was required to treat or provide care to the patient; (2) that he violated his duty; (3) that a causal link exists between the breach and injury; and (4) the injury results in damages the legal system can deal with.
A breach of duty of care has no significance unless it results in injury. This is why medical malpractice cases are typically based on the legal doctrine "res ipsa locquitur," which states that certain injuries are so obvious they can only be explained by negligence.
Based on the facts of the situation, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally designated representative) or their lawyer may present the claim to state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state courts, however in certain situations the case of medical negligence may be filed in federal district court.
Wrong Surgery
A wrong-site procedure is a rare error, but it can be considered medical malpractice if the procedure is performed on the wrong area of the body. This type of error is often caused by a lack of communication between members of a surgical team, or production pressure that leads to a surgeon being assigned multiple surgeries at the same time. In these situations, a surgeon is not solely responsible for a wrong-site operation due to the legal principle of "res ipsa locquitur", which states that the result speaks for itself and cannot be blamed on negligence.
If someone is injured during a wrong-site procedure the patient may need additional procedures to correct problems that were aggravated by the error. Patients and their families are left with high medical bills. It is important to keep these costs in mind when calculating the financial burden of medical malpractice claims.
The majority of times surgeons are accountable for surgical errors. They are accountable to prepare the patient for surgery, reviewing the medical records and chart of the patient, coordinating with the rest of the medical staff, and making sure that the incision was made at the correct location. However, in certain instances hospitals or anesthesiologists may also be liable. Medical malpractice cases are usually filed in state court but they may be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.