Making Medical Malpractice Legal

Medical malpractice is a highly specialized legal field. Physicians should take steps to safeguard themselves from legal liability by obtaining sufficient medical malpractice insurance.

Patients must prove that the doctor's breach of duty led to injury. Damages are determined by the economic loss, such as lost income, future medical costs and non-economic losses like discomfort and pain.

Duty of care

The first thing medical malpractice lawyers need to establish in a case is the obligation of care. All healthcare professionals are required towards their patients to perform in accordance with the standards of care applicable in their field. This includes doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. It also covers assistants interns, medical students under the guidance of an attending doctor or physician.

A medical expert witness decides the standards of medical care in the courtroom. They examine the medical records and compare them to what a competent doctor in the same field would have done under similar circumstances.

If the healthcare professional's conduct or the absence thereof fell below this standard, they breached their duty of care and caused harm. The injured patient must then prove that the healthcare professional's negligence directly resulted in their losses. This may include scarring, discomfort, and other injuries. This can include medical bills loss of wages, as well as other financial losses.

If a surgeon removes an instrument used for surgery inside the patient following surgery, this could cause discomfort or other issues which can lead to damages. Medical malpractice lawyers can be able to prove through the testimony an expert medical doctor that the surgical team's negligence resulted in these damages. This is referred to as direct causality. The patient must also show proof of their injuries.

Breach of duty

If a medical professional departs from the accepted standard of care, and this causes injury to the patient, a malpractice claim may be filed. The person who was injured must prove that the doctor breached their duty of care by providing care that was inadequate. In other words the doctor acted negligently, and this led to the patient to suffer damage.

To prove that the physician breached their duty to care, a competent attorney must present evidence from an expert to establish that the defendant failed to be a practitioner or possess the level of knowledge and skill required by physicians in their specialty. Furthermore, the plaintiff must demonstrate a direct link between the negligence alleged and the injuries suffered and this is known as causation.

A person who has been injured must also show that they would not have chosen the treatment they received if informed. This is also referred to as the principle of informed consent. Doctors are required to inform patients of potential complications or risks associated with an operation prior to the time they perform surgery or put the patient under anesthesia.

The statute of limitations is a time period that must be met by the injured person to bring a claim against medical malpractice. A court is almost always able to dismiss a case filed after the statute of limitations has passed regardless of how grave the error made by the healthcare provider or how damaging to the patient was. Certain states require that parties to a lawsuit for medical malpractice submit their claims to an independent screening panel or voluntary binding arbitration in lieu of trial.

Causation

Medical malpractice cases require a substantial investment of time and funds, both for the physicians who are involved in the litigation as well as their lawyers. To prove that a physician's treatment was not up to standard and acceptable standards, it is essential to review records, interview witnesses, and analyze medical literature. A law requires that lawsuits be filed within the timeframe that is set by the court. This deadline, referred to as the statute of limitations, is set when a mistake in health care treatment occurred or a patient discovers (or should have discovered, according to the law) they were injured as a result of the negligence of a doctor.

Proving causation is one the four main elements of a medical malpractice case and it is perhaps the most difficult to prove. Lawyers must prove that a breach by a doctor in the duty to care caused injuries to a patient and that the injuries would not have occurred but because of the negligence of the doctor. This is known as proximate or actual cause. The legal standard for proving this element differs from the one used in criminal cases, where the proof must be beyond a reasonable doubt.

If a lawyer is able to establish these three elements, then the sufferer of malpractice could be able to claim monetary compensation from the defendant. The purpose of these monetary damages is to compensate the victim's injuries or loss of quality of life, and other loss.

Damages

medical malpractice law firm malpractice cases are usually complicated and require a large amount of expert testimony. The plaintiff's attorney must prove that a physician failed to follow an established standard of medical treatment and that this omission caused injuries, and that the injury resulted in damages. The plaintiff must also prove that the injury was quantifiable in monetary terms.

Medical negligence cases are among the most difficult and costly legal actions to bring. To reduce the cost of litigation, many states have introduced tort reform laws that aim to improve efficiency, reduce frivolous lawsuits, and compensate victims fairly. Some of these measures include reducing the amount that plaintiffs are able to claim for pain and suffering as well as limiting the number defendants who are responsible for the payment of an award (joint and several liability) as well as the requirement of mediation, arbitration or the submission of a claim to a panel of judges for a screening prior to trial; and imposing limits on damages in medical malpractice lawsuits.

In addition, many malpractice claims involve highly technical issues that are difficult for judges and juries to understand. Experts are critical in these cases. For instance in the event that a surgeon makes mistakes during surgery the patient's lawyer needs to hire an orthopedic specialist to explain how that specific error would not have occurred had the surgeon performed the surgery according to the relevant medical standards of care.