Making Medical Malpractice Legal
Medical malpractice is a highly specialized legal area. Physicians need to take steps to safeguard themselves from risk by purchasing adequate medical malpractice insurance.
Patients must prove that the physician's breached duty caused them injury. Damages are determined by the economic loss, like lost income, future medical expenses and non-economic losses such as pain and discomfort.
Duty of care
The first thing
medical malpractice lawyers need to establish in a case is the duty of care. All healthcare professionals have a duty towards their patients to act in accordance with the standards of care applicable in their field. This includes nurses and doctors as well as other medical professionals. This includes medical students, interns, and assistants working under the supervision of a doctor or physician.
The quality of care is set by a medical expert witness in the court. They look over the medical records and compare them with the standards of care a competent doctor in the same field would do in similar circumstances.
If the healthcare professional's actions or their conduct fell below this standard they have breached the duty of care and resulted in injury. The injured patient has to prove that the healthcare professional's negligence directly resulted in their losses. This may include scarring, discomfort, and other injuries. They can also include financial loss such as medical expenses and lost wages.
If a surgeon has left an instrument used for surgery inside the patient following surgery it could cause pain or other problems, which could result in damage. Medical malpractice lawyers can establish through the testimony of an expert medical doctor that the surgical team's negligence caused the damage. This is called direct causation. The patient also has to provide evidence of their damages.
Breach of duty
A malpractice lawsuit can be filed when medical professionals breach the accepted standard of care and results in injury to a patient. The victim must prove that the doctor acted in breach of their duty to care by providing care that was not up to par. In other words the doctor acted negligently and this caused the patient to suffer damage.
To prove that the physician breached their duty to care, a skilled attorney must present expert testimony to show that the defendant did not be a practitioner or possess the level of knowledge and expertise possessed by physicians who specialize in their field. Additionally, the plaintiff has to establish a direct causal connection between the negligence alleged and the injuries that were sustained that resulted from it. This is known as causation.
A person who has been injured must also prove that they would not have chosen a particular treatment if properly informed. This is also referred to as the principle of informed consent. Doctors are required to inform patients of possible complications or risks that may arise from a procedure before they perform surgery or place the patient under anesthesia.
The statute of limitations is a time period that must be observed by the person who has been injured to file a claim for medical malpractice. A court is almost always able to dismiss a lawsuit filed after the time limit has expired regardless of how grave the error made by the healthcare provider or how serious the harm to the patient was. Certain states have laws that require participants in a
medical malpractice lawsuit to engage in voluntary binding arbitration or submit their claims to a screening panel prior to going to trial.
Causation
Medical malpractice claims require a substantial investment of time and money both for the physicians who are involved in the litigation and their lawyers. To prove that a doctor's treatment was not in accordance with the standards the court must look over records, talk to witnesses, and study medical literature. Furthermore lawsuits must be filed within a period of time that is set by law. This deadline, called the statute of limitations, is set when a mistake in the treatment of a health professional occurred or when a patient finds out (or should have discovered, according to the law) they were injured due to the error of a physician.
Causation is the fourth and most important element of a malpractice case. It is often the most difficult to prove. A lawyer must prove that a breach by a doctor in the duty to care caused injuries to a patient and that the injuries would not have happened but for the physician’s negligence. This is referred to as proximate or actual cause and the legal standard for proof of this element differs from that used in criminal cases, where evidence must be beyond reasonable doubt.
If a lawyer can establish these three key elements, then the victim of malpractice could be entitled to an amount of money from the defendant. The purpose of these damages is to provide compensation to the victim for injuries or loss of quality of life and other expenses.
Damages
Medical malpractice cases can be complex and require expert testimony. The plaintiff's lawyer must show that a doctor failed to follow the standards of medical treatment and that this omission caused injury, and that this injury resulted from damages. The plaintiff should also demonstrate that the injury was measurable in terms of dollars.
Medical negligence claims are among the most difficult and expensive legal cases you can bring. To reduce the cost of litigation, several states have implemented tort reform measures that aim to improve efficiency, decrease frivolous claims and compensate injured parties fairly. Some of these measures include reducing the amount that plaintiffs are able to claim for pain and suffering as well as limiting the number defendants who are responsible for paying an award (joint and several liability) or the requirement of mediation, arbitration or the submission of claims to a panel for screening prior to trial; and setting limits on the amount of damages awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
Many malpractice claims also have technical aspects, which are difficult to understand by juries and judges. This is why experts are crucial in these cases. For example, if a surgeon makes an error during surgery the patient's attorney must employ an orthopedic expert to explain how the mistake would not have occurred had the surgeon performed the surgery according to the relevant medical guidelines of care.