Four Elements of a medical malpractice law firm Malpractice Case

Malpractice lawsuits pose a real and serious threat to doctors. They drive up physician insurance costs and can alter medical practice.

In general doctors owe their patients the duty to uphold the accepted medical practices, without any deviation or exclusion. This is known as the standard of care.

To successfully claim a doctor's negligence, the patient must be able to prove each of the following legal elements with the preponderance evidence: duty; breach of that duty, causation, and medical malpractice damages.

Duty of Care

The first aspect of a claim for medical malpractice is that the injured party was legally obligated by the doctor that was breached. Unlike some types of negligence cases, medical malpractice claims often require the relationship between a doctor and patient, which is established through things like medical records and telephone consultations. In general, doctors who treat patients must adhere to the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

Doctors could also be held responsible for the incompetence or negligence of their staff members, like assistants or interns. They could also be held accountable for the actions of emergency personnel who are under their supervision.

The next thing the plaintiff must prove is that the defendant failed to adhere to the standard of care under the circumstances. This can be established by expert testimony regarding acceptable medical practices and the defendant's inability to comply with these guidelines. The second element is that the breach directly hurts the patient. To prove this your lawyer must prove the direct causality and impact between the defendant's dereliction of duty and your injuries or loved one's untimely death. This concept is known as proximate causation. If, for example, the negligent treatment claimed to be negligent was not able to have an adverse impact on your health, regardless of whether or not it was done or not, you aren't able to win damages for any injuries or death that was believed to be cause by the physician's behavior.

Breach of Duty

A physician who fails to meet his or her obligation of professional care to a patient can be held accountable for negligence. In order to be successful in a medical malpractice case, the victim must prove four legal elements which include: a duty to provide professional care was owed and the doctor violated this duty; the breach caused injury, and the injury resulted in damages. The first aspect of a medical malpractice lawsuit is the standard of care which is determined by experts' testimony. The standard of care is defined as the things that is what a "reasonably prudent" doctor would do in similar circumstances.

The physician's violation of this obligation occurs when he deviates from the standard of care in providing treatment to the patient. For instance, when a doctor breaks the arm of a patient, the doctor isn't able to properly set it or fails to cast the broken arm. A breach by a doctor can make the injured arm to heal incorrectly. This can result in a partial or complete loss of use, and monetary damages.

In the majority of instances, medical malpractice lawsuits are filed with state trial courts. However in certain situations federal courts may also take on these cases. Each of the 94 federal district courts in the United States has a judge-jury panel that handles medical malpractice cases. The majority of states have a system of special state courts that deal with the cases, although they have different rules of court procedure than federal district courts.

Causation

A patient may be entitled compensation for damages if a physician fails to fulfill their duty to do no harm. A medical malpractice lawsuit could occur when a doctor opts to carry out a procedure that is associated with risks and the patient would not have opted out of the procedure if fully aware of all potential consequences.

The plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit must prove that the physician failed to adhere to accepted standards of practice, that this negligence was a direct cause of the injury or illness that the patient suffered and that the injury would not have happened but because of the negligence of a physician. This burden of proof is also known as the "preponderance of the 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 pre-trial discovery hearings. Whether the case is settled or goes to trial, the lawyers on both sides have to spend significant time and resources preparing for the matter. This is one reason why malpractice claims are so costly for both the patient and the doctor affected, and is one of the reasons that health care professionals and physicians organizations support efforts to reform tort law in the United States.

Damages

In the event of medical negligence, victims can recover compensatory and punitive damages. Compensatory damages pay for monetary losses and expenses due to the negligence of the doctor which includes loss of income or the cost of future medical treatments. Non-economic damages are compensation for physical pain as well as mental distress.

Medical malpractice claims are filed in state trial courts. However, there are some instances where a lawsuit can be filed in federal court. This is typically the situation when a doctor is employed at a federally funded facility such as the Veterans' Administration, or if the doctor is from another country but is practicing in the United States under a treaty of extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually adversarial and require extensive legal discovery. This includes written interrogatories, depositions as well as requests for documents. Patients who are accused of medical malpractice will also have to bear the stress of a jury trial and may face the threat of having their claim dismissed by a judge, or dismissed by jurors.

To win a medical malpractice claim, you must show that the medical negligence or error caused your injury. The injury has to be severe enough to warrant a monetary payment that will compensate you for your financial losses as well as emotional trauma. New York medical malpractice law also has specific damage caps, and other limits to the amount that a patient can receive if they successfully make an appeal.