Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation
Malpractice litigation involves a complex procedure. If a patient can prove four elements, it will be able to determine whether or not the mistake is malpractice. These are the following: a professional obligation in breach of this duty; an injury resulting from this breach; and measurable damages.
Plaintiffs must also prove the elements by using evidence,
malpractice such as expert testimony and depositions.
The wrong diagnosis and the inability to recognize
The failure of a physician to accurately diagnose an illness or injury can lead to serious complications or even death. Misdiagnosis is a common cause of medical malpractice. To prove negligence the patient or their attorney must show that a competent doctor under similar circumstances and in the same field would not have misdiagnosed the condition.
The misdiagnosis of a patient does not always mean negligence. Even highly trained and experienced doctors make mistakes, therefore the claim of malpractice must be backed by other elements such as breach, proximate causation, and actual injury. For instance If a doctor fails to properly sterilize their equipment prior to giving anesthesia and the patient suffers an infection because of it the doctor could be guilty of malpractice.
The majority of lawsuits involving malpractice are filed in state trial courts, where the alleged malpractice took place. However, federal courts could have jurisdiction under limited circumstances. A claim can be brought before a federal court under certain circumstances. For instance, it may involve a dispute about a statute of limitation or when the parties have different nationalities. Certain disputes are settled through arbitral arbitration, which is a binding process. This is a less formal procedure that involves professionals who make the decisions. It is intended to cut costs, expedite legal proceedings and reduce the risk of overly generous juries. However, arbitration isn't accessible for all claims of malpractice.
Wrong Drug Dosage
Medication errors, also known as medication mistakes, are one of the leading causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can be the result of a doctor prescribing the wrong medication or giving the wrong dosage to a patient. These errors are generally preventable. Depending on the circumstances, a hospital or its staff, a pharmacist or other health professionals could be held accountable for the injuries suffered by the patient who received the wrong drug dosage.
A doctor may prescribe the incorrect medication to a patient as a result of an inaccurate diagnosis or simply because he/she misreads the prescription. A health care professional could also administer the wrong dosage because of an issue with communication like when the nurse reads the doctor's handwritten prescription incorrectly or the pharmacist is mistaken in filling out the prescription. In other cases the doctor may delay the proper medication to the patient, resulting in the patient's condition getting worse.
A victim must prove, in order to prevail on a
malpractice lawyers lawsuit that the medical professional violated their standard of practice and that their injuries were directly caused by the negligence. This requires the testimony of a medical expert. Furthermore, a medical negligence case must demonstrate the extent of the injuries suffered by a victim and the damages they suffered as a result of the negligence. This includes the costs of treatment as well as any lost wages. The greater the loss is, the more valuable of the claim.
Unskillful Procedure
This kind of incident is not unusual. It may seem like a challenge for medical professionals to carry out the wrong procedure on patients, but it's true. The surgeon who commits this error can be found liable for malpractice. However patients who are injured by a surgical mistake could also be held accountable for any negligence that occurred the path to the procedure.
A medical professional accused of malpractice must demonstrate that the patient was injured because of an act or inability to take action. To establish this, the patient's legal team must demonstrate that: (1) the doctor was under the obligation to provide medical care or treatment; (2) that the doctor violated that duty; (3) that there is a direct causal connection between the breach and the injury and (4) that the injury causes damages that the legal system could deal with.
A breach of the duty of care is meaningless unless it causes injury, this is why medical Malpractice (
Gonysnap.Co.Kr) claims are typically based on a legal doctrine called "res ipsa loquitur." This law states that, in a lot of instances certain injuries are so obvious and recognizable that they are only explained by negligent actions.
Depending on the circumstances of the case, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally appointed representative) or their lawyer may bring the case in state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state courts, however in certain situations the medical negligence lawsuit may be filed in federal district court.
Wrong Surgery
The wrong-site surgery is a common mistake, but it could be considered medical malpractice if the procedure is performed on the wrong side of the body. This type of mistake is often caused by miscommunications between members of the surgical team or pressures in the production process that result in surgeons being assigned multiple surgeries at once. In these instances, a surgeon is not solely responsible for an incorrect-site procedure due to a legal principle known as "res ipsa locquitur" which states that the result is a matter of fact and cannot be blamed on negligence.
If an individual is injured in a wrong-site procedure, he or her may need additional procedures to correct problems that were aggravated by the error. Patients and their family members are left with hefty medical bills. These expenses must be taken into consideration when calculating the financial consequences of medical malpractice claims.
Surgeons are most often found to be responsible for surgical mistakes since they are the ones who are accountable for making preparations for the operation, double-checking the patient's chart and medical records, communicating effectively with other members of the medical team and making sure the incision is done at the correct place. In certain instances hospitals or anesthesiologists could also be held accountable. Medical malpractice cases are usually filed in state courts, however, they can be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.