Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Physicians fear malpractice lawsuits as real threats. They can raise insurance costs and can affect the medical practice.

In general doctors owe patients the duty to uphold the accepted medical practice without any deviation or omission. This is referred to as the standard of care.

To sue a doctor for negligence, the patient must be able to prove the following elements by a preponderance: duty, breach of duty, causation and damages.

Duty of Care

The most important element of a medical negligence claim is that the party who suffered was legally obligated by the doctor who was not fulfilled. Medical malpractice cases differ from other negligence claims in that they typically involve a doctor-patient relation, which can be established by things like doctor's records or telephone consultations. In general, doctors who treat their patients must adhere to the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

Doctors may be held accountable for the incompetence or negligence of their staff, such as interns or assistants. Furthermore, they can be held accountable for the actions of emergency medical personnel who are working under their supervision.

The next thing that a plaintiff has to prove is that the defendant did not meet the standards of care under the circumstances. This is only able to be proved through expert testimony on acceptable medical practices and the defendant's failure follow these guidelines. The second element of malpractice is that this breach directly caused injury to the patient. To prove this your lawyer must establish the direct causality and impact between the defendant's failure to perform his duty and your injury or loved one's death. This is known as proximate causes. If, for instance the alleged negligent treatment would not have had a negative effect on your health, regardless of whether or not it was done in a way that was harmful, you will not be able to be awarded damages for any injuries or death that was allegedly cause by the physician's behavior.

Breach of Duty

A physician who fails to meet their duty of care towards the client may be held accountable for negligence. In order to win a medical malpractice suit the plaintiff must establish four elements: there was a duty to care and the physician violated the duty and the breach resulted in injury and finally the injury resulted in damages. The first element of a claim for medical malpractice revolves around the standard of care that is determined by experts' testimony. The standard of care is what a "reasonably prudent" doctor would do in similar or similar circumstances.

The breach of this duty occurs when he is not following the standard of care when rendering treatment to the patient. If a physician fractures the arm of a patient the doctor may fail to cast the arm correctly. The doctor's breach of this duty causes the injured arm to heal incorrectly, resulting in a complete or partial loss of use, and further financial damages.

In the majority of instances, medical malpractice lawsuits are filed in state trial courts. However under certain circumstances federal courts may also hear these claims. Each of the 94 federal district courts in the United States has a judge-jury panel that will hear medical malpractice cases. A majority of states have a system of state courts that are specialized to handle these cases, but with different court procedures than federal district courts.

Causation

A patient could be entitled to compensation for any damages suffered by the doctor fails to meet their obligation to avoid harm. A medical malpractice claim could also arise if the doctor performs a treatment with known risks, and the patient would not have consented to the procedure if they had been fully informed.

The plaintiff in a medical malpractice case must prove that the doctor did not act in accordance with accepted standards of practice, that this failure was a direct cause of the injury or illness that the patient suffered and that the ailment could not have occurred except due to the negligence of the doctor. This burden of proof is referred to as the "preponderance of evidence" standard, which is less demanding than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits typically require expert witnesses and lengthy pretrial discovery proceedings. If the case is settled or goes to trial, lawyers on both sides have to spend significant time and resources preparing for the case. This is the reason why malpractice claims are costly for both the physician and the plaintiff involved. It is one of the primary reasons why doctors and health care groups support efforts to change tort laws in the United States.

Damages

In the event of medical malpractice lawyers negligence, victims are able to seek punitive and compensatory damages. Compensation damages are awarded to compensate the patient for the financial loss or costs resulting from the negligence of the doctor. This includes the loss of income as well as future medical costs. Non-economic damages include compensation for physical pain as well as mental anxiety.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually filed in a state trial court. There are certain situations in which a lawsuit can be filed in federal courts. This is usually the situation when the doctor is employed by a clinic that is funded by federal funds such as the Veterans Administration or in the case of a doctor who is from other country, but practices in the United States as part of an agreement with extraterritorial authority.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually adversarial and require an extensive legal discovery. This includes depositions, written interrogatories and requests for production of documents. The victims of alleged medical negligence might also have to endure a jury trial, and face the possibility of having their claim rejected by a judge or dismissed by a juror.

You must prove that medical negligence, or mistake caused your injury in order to be awarded a case for medical negligence. The injury must be severe enough to warrant a financial award that would cover your financial losses as well as emotional pain. New York medical malpractice law also includes certain damage caps, as well as limits on the amount the patient could receive if they successfully make an appeal.