Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation
The process of bringing a malpractice lawsuit is a complex procedure. The question of whether or not an error is considered to be malpractice is dependent on the ability of the patient to prove four legal elements which include professional duty; breach of this duty; injury resulted from the breach and tangible damages.
Plaintiffs must also prove the elements by using evidence like expert testimony and depositions.
Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose
The inability of a doctor to accurately diagnose an illness or injury could lead to serious complications or even death. Many medical malpractice cases result from mistakes in diagnosis. To establish negligence, a patient or their lawyer must prove that an experienced doctor in similar circumstances would not have misdiagnosed a condition.
Misdiagnosis does not always constitute negligence. Even highly trained and experienced doctors make mistakes. Therefore, an allegation of malpractice needs to be supported by other factors like breach, proximate cause and actual injury. If a doctor fails to sterilize his equipment prior to giving anesthesia and the patient develops an infection as a result of this, he could be liable.
In the majority of instances, lawsuits claiming
malpractice law firms will be filed in the state trial court in which the alleged malpractice took place. Federal courts can however have jurisdiction in certain situations. For instance, a claim could be filed in federal court if it is the interpretation of a statute of limitations or when there is a substantial difference in citizenship among the parties in the case. Additionally, some cases are settled through voluntary binding arbitration. This is a less formal process that involves professionals who make the decisions. It is intended to cut costs, speed up legal proceedings and eliminate the possibility of excessively generous juries. Arbitration is not available in all instances of misconduct.
The wrong dosage of medication
Medication mistakes, also referred to as medication errors, are among the most common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can result from a doctor prescribing the wrong medication or administering the wrong dosage to patients. These mistakes are usually avoidable. In certain circumstances, a hospital staff member, a pharmacist or other health care professionals could be held responsible for the harms suffered by a patient who was prescribed the wrong dose of medication.
A doctor might prescribe the incorrect medication to a patient as a result of an incorrect diagnosis or simply due to a misreading of the prescription. A health professional could also administer the wrong dosage due to an interruption in communication for instance, when a nurse reads a doctor's handwritten script incorrectly or the pharmacist makes a mistake in filling out the prescription. In other cases the doctor could delay giving the correct medication, which can cause the patient's condition to worsening.
A victim must prove, to be successful in a malpractice lawsuit, that the medical professional violated their standards of practice and that their injuries were directly caused by the negligence. This requires the testimony of a medical expert. A medical malpractice case also must prove the severity and the damages caused by the victim's injuries. This includes the costs of treatment for the victim as well as any wages lost. In general, the greater a person's losses are then, the more valuable the claim will be.
The wrong procedure
It might seem unlikely that medical professionals would perform the wrong procedure on a patient but this type of mishap can occur. The surgeon who makes this mistake could be held liable for negligence. A patient who suffers injury because of an error during surgery may be held responsible for any mistakes that were made during the procedure.
Any health care professional who is accused of misconduct must prove that the patient was injured through a specific act or omission to act. To establish this, the patient's legal team must demonstrate that: (1) the doctor was in a duty to provide care or treatment; (2) that the doctor violated that duty; (3) that there is a direct causal link between the breach and the injury; and (4) that the injury causes damages that the legal system can resolve.
A breach of the duty of care is not relevant unless it causes injury which is the reason medical malpractice claims are usually founded on a legal principle 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 acts.
Depending on the circumstances of the case, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally designated representative) or their attorney may file the claim in state or federal court. Most malpractice cases are filed in state court, however under certain circumstances medical malpractice lawsuits can be brought in federal district court.
Wrong Surgery
The procedure that is performed on the wrong site is not common but it could be considered medical malpractice when the procedure is performed in the wrong part of your body. This type of error is usually caused by miscommunications between members of the surgical team, or by production pressures that result in the surgeon performing multiple surgeries assigned at once. In these cases the surgeon isn't the only one with responsibility for a surgical error that is not performed correctly because there is a legal principle called "res ipsa loquitur" which means that the outcome of the error is evident and can be attributed to negligence.
If a patient is injured during an operation that was performed on the wrong site and is injured, they may require additional procedures to fix problems that were made worse due to the error. Patients and their families are left with costly medical bills. It is important to consider these costs when calculating the financial costs of medical
malpractice lawsuits.
The majority of times surgeons are accountable for surgical errors. They are accountable in preparing the patient for the procedure, as well as checking the medical records and chart of the patient, communicating with the medical team, and ensuring that the incision was made in the proper location. In some cases, a hospital or anesthesiologist can also be held liable. Medical
malpractice law firms claims are generally filed in state court, but they may be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.