Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation
Malpractice litigation involves a complex procedure. If a patient can prove four elements, it will determine whether or not the error is malpractice. These are: a professional obligation and a breach of that obligation; a repercussion from this breach; and measurable damages.
Plaintiffs must also prove the elements using evidence like expert testimony and depositions.
Incorrect diagnosis and inability to diagnose
Failure to diagnose an injury or illness in a timely manner can cause serious complications, or death. Incorrect diagnosis is a common reason for medical negligence. To prove negligence, a patient or their lawyer needs to prove that a qualified doctor in similar circumstances would not have misdiagnosed a problem.
There are many misdiagnosis that could be considered malpractice, however. Even the most skilled and trained doctors make mistakes, and any claim of malpractice has to be supported by other elements such as breach, proximate causation and actual injury. For instance, if a physician is not careful to sterilize their equipment prior to giving anesthesia to a patient and they develop an infection in the process the doctor may be found to be negligent.
In the majority of cases, lawsuits that allege malpractice will be filed in the state trial court in which the alleged error occurred. Federal courts can however have jurisdiction in certain instances. A case may be brought before a federal court in specific circumstances. For instance, it may involve a dispute about a statute of limitation or if the parties are of different nationalities. Certain claims are settled through binding voluntary arbitration. This is a less formal process that is governed by professional decision makers. It is designed to lower costs, speed up legal process, and reduce the risks associated with large juries. However, arbitration is not accessible for all malpractice claims.
The wrong dosage of medication
Medication errors are one of the most frequent causes of medical
malpractice law firm lawsuits. These errors are caused by a doctor writing a prescription in the wrong format, or giving the patient the incorrect dosage. These mistakes are often avoidable. According to the circumstances the situation, a pharmacist, a hospital or other health care providers could be held responsible for injuries caused by a patient who was given the wrong dosage of a drug.
A doctor could prescribe wrong medication to a patient as a result of an incorrect diagnosis or simply because he/she misreads the prescription. A health care professional may also prescribe the wrong dosage because of a glitch in communication. For example nurses may not read a doctor's prescription correctly or a pharmacist could fail to fill the prescription. In other instances, a physician might delay administering the correct medication to the patient, resulting in their condition deteriorating.
To prevail in a
Malpractice lawyer lawsuit, a victim must establish that the medical professional acted in breach of their standard of care, and that the negligence directly caused their injuries. This requires medical experts to be able to testify. Moreover, a medical malpractice case must establish the severity of the victim's injuries and the damages they suffered because of the negligence. This includes the cost of treatment and
Malpractice Lawyer any lost wage. The more the loss of the claim, the greater the value of the claim.
Incorrect Procedure
This kind of situation is not unusual. It might seem impossible for medical professionals to perform the wrong procedure on patients, but it does happen. A surgeon who makes this mistake could be held accountable for malpractice. However the patient who is injured by a surgical mistake could also be held accountable for any negligence that occurred along the way to the procedure.
Any health professional who is accused of negligence must show that the patient was injured by a specific action or omission to act. To prove this the legal team of the patient must demonstrate that: (1) the doctor was bound by an obligation to provide treatment or treatment; (2) that the doctor breached the duty of care; (3) that there is a direct causal relationship between the breach and the injury; and (4) that the injury results in damages which the legal system has the power to be able to address.
A breach of duty of care is no meaning unless it result in injury. This is the reason why medical malpractice cases are typically founded on the legal doctrine "res ipsa locquitur" which states that certain injuries are so obvious that they can only be explained by negligence.
Based on the facts of the case, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally designated representative) or their lawyer may file the claim in state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state courts, however in certain situations a medical negligence case can be filed in federal district court.
Wrong Surgery
The procedure that is performed on the wrong site is not common but it can be considered medical malpractice when the procedure is performed in the wrong place on your body. This type of error is typically due to miscommunication between the members of a surgical team, or production pressure that results in an individual surgeon being assigned multiple surgeries simultaneously. In these situations the surgeon isn't the only one with responsibility for a surgical error that is not performed correctly because there is an underlying legal principle referred to as "res ipsa loquitur" which means that the outcome of the error is evident and can only be attributed to negligence.
If the patient is injured during a wrong-site procedure the patient may require additional procedures to fix problems that were exacerbated by the error. This could result in expensive medical expenses for patients as well as their families. It is crucial to take these costs into account when calculating the financial burden of medical
malpractice lawyers lawsuits.
Surgeons are most often held accountable for surgical errors as they are the ones who are accountable for preparing for the operation, double-checking the patient's chart and medical records, coordinating effectively with other members of the medical team and making sure that the incision is done at the correct place. However, in some cases an anesthesiologist or a hospital could be held accountable. Medical malpractice claims are generally filed in state courts, however, under certain circumstances, they can be transferred to federal courts.