Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Physicians worry about malpractice lawsuits as real threats. They could increase the cost of insurance for physicians and change the practice of medicine.

In general doctors owe patients a duty to uphold accepted medical practices without deviation or omission. This is known as the standard of care.

To successfully to sue a doctor for malpractice, an aggrieved patient must show each of these legal elements using a preponderance of the evidence: breach of duty, breach of duty; causation; and damages.

Duty of Care

The primary element of a medical negligence claim is that the victim was obliged to perform a duty by the doctor who was not fulfilled. Unlike some types of negligence cases, medical malpractice claims often require the relationship between a doctor and patient, which is established through things like a doctor's records and telephone consultations. In general, doctors who treat patients must follow the standards that are accepted in their profession and practice.

Doctors could be held accountable for the incompetence or negligence of their staff members, including assistants and interns. Furthermore, they can be held liable for the actions of emergency medical personnel who are under their supervision.

The next thing that a plaintiff has to prove is that the defendant did not satisfy the standard of medical care under the circumstances. This element can only be proven by expert testimony on acceptable medical practices and the defendant's refusal to follow these standards. The second aspect of malpractice is that this breach directly harmed the patient. To prove that you have committed a crime your lawyer needs to prove that the breach of duty by the defendant directly caused your injury or the death of your loved one. This is called proximate cause. If, for instance the alleged negligent treatment was not able to have a negative effect on your health, irrespective of whether or not it was performed, you won't be able win damages for any injuries or death, that were allegedly caused by the doctor's actions.

Breach of Duty

A doctor who fails fulfill his or her duty of professional care to a patient can be held accountable for negligence. In order to prevail in a medical malpractice case, the victim must prove four legal aspects that a duty of care or professional care was in place; the physician breached this duty; the breach caused injury; and the injury was a cause of damages. The first aspect of a claim for medical malpractice centers around the standard of care which is determined by experts' testimony. The standard of care is the amount an "reasonably prudent" doctor would do in similar or identical circumstances.

The physician's breach of this obligation occurs when he or she deviates from the standard of care in giving treatment to the patient. For example, if the physician breaks the arm of a patient and is not able to properly set the arm or fails to cast the broken arm. A breach by a doctor can make the broken arm to heal in a wrong way. This can result in an incomplete or total loss of use, and monetary damages.

Medical malpractice cases are brought in state trial courts, however under certain circumstances federal courts may hear these claims. Each of the 94 federal district courts in the United States has a judge-jury panel that hears medical malpractice attorneys malpractice cases. Most states have a specialized system of state courts that handle these cases. However, they have different rules of court procedures than federal district courts.

Causation

Physicians take an oath to protect their patients and if they fail to uphold this duty and cause harm, the patient may be entitled to compensation for damages. Medical malpractice claims can also arise when a doctor decides to perform a procedure that has risks and the patient would have opted to not undergo the procedure if they had been fully informed of the possible consequences.

The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit must show that the doctor did not comply with accepted guidelines for practice, and that the doctor's negligence was the direct cause of the injury or illness the patient was suffering from and that the ailment would not have occurred but for the physician's negligence. This burden of proof is known as the "preponderance of the evidence" standard that is less arduous than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard used to convict criminal defendants.

The lawsuits that allege medical malpractice usually require expert witnesses and medical malpractice lengthy pretrial discovery processes. In the event that the case settles or goes to trial, the attorneys from both sides spend significant time and resources preparing for the trial. This is the primary reason why malpractice claims are so costly for both the plaintiff and the medical professional involved, and is one of the reasons that health care professionals and physicians groups are a part of efforts to reform tort law in the United States.

Damages

Victims may be awarded damages for punitive or compensatory, based on the nature of medical negligence. Compensation damages are awarded to compensate the patient for the monetary losses or costs resulting from the negligence of the doctor. This includes income loss and future medical costs. Non-economic damages can include compensation for mental and physical anxiety.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually filed in a state trial court. However, there are certain situations where a lawsuit can be filed in federal court. It is usually the case when a doctor is employed by a federally-funded medical clinic such as the Veterans Administration or if the doctor is from another country, but is working in the United States as part of an agreement with extraterritorial authority.

Legal actions involving medical malpractice are mostly adversarial and require large amounts of legal discovery. This includes written interrogatories and depositions, as well as requests for documents. The victims of medical malpractice might also have to deal with the stress of a jury trial and may be in danger of being rejected by a judge, or dismissed by the jury.

You must prove that medical negligence, or mistake caused your injury to win an action for medical malpractice. The damage must be serious enough that a monetary award would substantially make up for your financial losses and emotional pain. New York medical malpractice law also has damages caps and limits to the amount that an individual patient could be awarded after proving a claim.