Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation
The legal process for defending malpractice is a complex process. The question of whether or not an error constitutes
malpractice attorneys depends on whether the patient is able to establish four legal elements that include a professional obligation breach of this duty; injury resulted from the breach and damages that can be quantifiable.
Plaintiffs must also prove these elements by presenting evidence such as expert testimony, depositions and discovery.
Incorrect diagnosis or failure to diagnose
Failure to correctly diagnose an injury or illness in a timely manner can cause serious complications, or death. Misdiagnosis is a common cause of medical negligence. To prove negligence, the patient or their attorney must show that a competent physician under similar circumstances and in the same area would not have misdiagnosed the condition.
It is not always a case of malpractice, however. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors make mistakes, and any claim of malpractice has to be backed by other elements like breach, proximate causality and actual injury. For example, if a physician is not careful to sterilize their equipment prior to administering anesthesia, and the patient develops an infection because of it the doctor could be guilty of malpractice.
Legal actions claiming malpractice are usually filed in state trial courts where the alleged malpractice occurred. However, federal courts may have jurisdiction in certain situations. A claim may be filed before federal court in certain circumstances. For example, it may involve an issue regarding a statute of limitation or if the parties are of different citizenships. Alternatively, some claims are resolved through binding arbitration that is voluntary. This is a less formal process that involves professionals who make the decisions. It is intended to save costs, expedite legal proceedings and eliminate the possibility of excessively generous juries. However, arbitration is not accessible for all claims of malpractice.
Dosage for a drug that is not correct
Medication errors, also referred as medication errors, are one of the main reasons for medical malpractice lawsuits. These errors could be caused by a physician who writes prescriptions in a wrong format or giving the patient the incorrect dosage. These mistakes are usually preventable. According to the situation an individual pharmacy, hospital or other health care provider could be held responsible for the injuries caused by a patient who was given the wrong dosage of a drug.
A doctor may prescribe the wrong medication because of a misdiagnosis or by simply misreading the prescription. A health care professional could also prescribe the wrong dosage due to an inability to communicate for example, when a nurse reads a doctor's handwritten script incorrectly or the pharmacist makes a mistake in filling the prescription. In other situations the doctor may delay in administering the correct medication to the patient, resulting in their condition deteriorating.
A person who suffers from a medical malpractice claim must prove, for the sake of winning a malpractice claim that the medical professional breached their standards of practice and that their injuries were directly attributed to the negligence. This requires the testimony of a medical expert. A medical
malpractice lawyer claim also must prove the extent and damage of the victim's injuries. This includes the costs of a person's treatment and any wages lost. In general, the greater a loss is in the greater value of the claim will be.
Incorrect Procedure
This kind of situation is not uncommon. It might seem unattainable for medical professionals to carry out the wrong procedure on patients however, it is a reality. A surgeon who makes this mistake could be held accountable for negligence. However patients who are injured by a surgical mistake could also be held responsible for any negligence that occurred along the process.
A health professional accused of malpractice must prove that the patient was injured because of a specific act, or failure to act. To prove this the legal team of the patient must prove that (1) the doctor was bound by a duty to provide care or treatment; (2) that the doctor violated that duty; (3) that there is a direct and causal connection between the breach and the injury; and (4) that the injury results in damages that the legal system could be able to address.
A breach of duty of care has no significance unless it results in injury. This is the reason medical malpractice cases are often based on the legal doctrine "res ipsa locquitur" which says that certain injuries are so obvious they can be explained only through negligence.
Depending on the circumstances depending on the facts, the plaintiff (the person who filed the claim or their legal representative) or their attorney may decide to file the case either in state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state courts, however in certain circumstances the medical negligence lawsuit can be brought to federal district court.
Wrong Surgery
The wrong-site procedure is rare, but can be considered medical malpractice when the procedure is performed in the wrong place on your body. This type of error usually occurs as caused by a lack of communication between members of a surgical team, or production pressure that results in the surgeon being tasked with multiple surgeries at once. In these cases, the surgeon is not the only one with liability for a wrong-site surgery due to a legal principle called "res ipsa loquitur" which means that the consequence of the error is evident and can only be attributed to negligence.
If a patient is injured during an incorrect procedure the patient may require additional procedures in order to correct issues that were caused by the mistake. Patients and their families are left with high medical bills. It is crucial to keep these costs in mind when calculating the financial burden of medical malpractice claims.
The majority of times surgeons are liable for surgical errors. They are accountable to prepare the patient for the procedure, as well as checking the chart and medical records of the patient, communicating with the rest of the medical personnel, and ensuring that the incision was made in the proper location. In some cases the hospital or anesthesiologist can also be held liable. Medical malpractice claims are typically filed in state court but can be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.