Medical Malpractice Law

Even with the most thorough training and a pledge to never cause harm, medical errors could happen. When they do, the consequences can be devastating for patients.

Malpractice law is a branch of tort law which deals with professional negligence. A malpractice lawsuit must satisfy four main requirements.

Malpractice claims in the United States are typically filed in state trial courts. A variety of legal tools, such as depositions under oath, are utilized to gather evidence to support the case.

Duty of care

A doctor is bound by a duty of care whenever you have a doctor-patient relationship. This is applicable regardless of whether the doctor treats you at the hospital or at your home. There are specific circumstances where doctors can be held liable for malpractice even when there is no relationship between the doctor and patient.

A person who has an obligation of accountability must behave in the same manner as a reasonable person under the circumstances. A driver, for instance is bound by a duty of care to drive safely and not cause injury to other road users. If the driver is not able to meet this duty and causes an injury, the driver can be held responsible for any injuries that result.

Doctors are accountable for the care of their patients at all times. This includes when a physician is not your primary doctor for instance, when you ask for advice in an elevator or at a restaurant. Good Samaritan laws often limit this obligation to be good Samaritan.

Medical professionals are also required to take care to warn their patients about the dangers involved in certain procedures and treatments. Failure to do this is a violation of the doctor's duty of care. A doctor could also be in breach of their duty of care if they prescribe you medication that interacts with other medications you are taking.

Breach of duty

In general, doctors have the obligation to their patients to provide medical treatment that conforms to accepted standards of practice. This standard is governed by the laws of today and by standards developed by medical associations. If a physician fails to meet this obligation they are committing negligence. A malpractice lawyer will look over the evidence to determine whether the standard of care was violated.

A doctor could violate their duty of care in a variety of ways. It is not just a question of whether they have done something normal people wouldn't do in the same scenario; it also includes what they should have done, but didn't do. Expert witness testimony is often required to determine the accepted standards of medical practice.

For example, a doctor who prescribes medication that is recognized to be in danger of interaction with other drugs could have breached their duty. This is a common mistake that could have grave health consequences.

However, simply proving that the breach of duty occurred is not enough to establish malpractice lawyers. You must establish an actual connection between the negligence of a doctor and your injury or sickness in order to receive damages. This is called causation. In certain cases it can be challenging to establish the connection. A skilled malpractice attorney will do their best to locate the evidence required to establish the connection.

Causation

A malpractice claim is valid only if the plaintiff is able to demonstrate that the defendant's negligent actions resulted in the injury and losses. Expert testimony is required to prove medical negligence. This requires establishing that there was a patient-provider relationship and that the medical professional violated the acceptable standard. It is essential that the victim's injuries must be directly related to the action or omission that violated the standard of medical care. This is known as causality or proximate cause.

In order to prove that you have committed legal malpractice is crucial to prove that the lawyer's lapse has had a significant negative impact on you. A lawsuit can be expensive and you must be able to prove that your losses are greater than the cost of the litigation. The plaintiff has to also prove that the negligence led to tangible and quantifiable damages.

In most malpractice cases the discovery process involves oral depositions. Your lawyer will represent you at these depositions, and ask questions of the experts in defense to challenge their findings and show that the evidence supports your assertions. A medical malpractice lawyer with experience is crucial for your case, as establishing the four elements, namely duty breach, causation, and harm, can be a challenge and time consuming. Your lawyer will guide you through each step. The more steps you take the higher your chance of winning.

Damages

The amount of money a patient receives in a malpractice case depends on their injury and the amount they need to cover medical expenses and income loss or other financial losses. In certain cases the plaintiff may be awarded punitive damages in order to punish the doctor for their conduct. These are extremely rare, as doctors must have acted with recklessness or intent to receive punitive damages.

Anyone who asserts medical malpractice must prove four aspects legal requirements. These include: (1) that the doctor was required to exercise caring; (2) that the doctor violated the duty by departing from the standard of practice in place; (3) the victim was injured as a result; and (4) the injury is quantifiable. In addition the injured party must bring a lawsuit within the time limit which varies according to the state.

The law recognizes that some medical negligence claims take a considerable amount of time and expense to resolve, particularly those involving complex issues of proximate cause or predictability. Its goal is to provide victims with the justice they need without allowing opportunistic or frivolous lawsuits to clog the courts. It also aims at reducing costs by requiring all defendants to take responsibility for the success of a claim (joint-and-several responsibility); limit the amount a plaintiff may recover if the other defendants are unable to pay ("damage cap") and restricting physicians from practicing defensive medicine that requires them to change their treatment plans in response to threats or malpractice lawsuits.