Four Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

Malpractice lawsuits pose a real and medical malpractice Law firm real threat to physicians. They increase insurance costs and can affect the medical practice.

In general, Medical malpractice Law firm doctors have an obligation to their patients to adhere to accepted medical practices. This is referred to as the "standard of care.

To successfully claim a doctor's malpractice, the patient must prove each of the following legal elements with the preponderance evidence: breach of duty; breach of obligation; causation; damages.

Duty of Care

The primary element in a medical malpractice case is that the person injured was owed a duty of a doctor that was not met. Medical malpractice claims differ from other types of negligence cases in that they often involve a physician-patient relationship, which is established by documents from a doctor or telephone consultations. In general, doctors who treat patients must follow the accepted standards of their profession and practice.

However, doctors could be held accountable for the negligence of their staff members, including interns or assistants. Additionally, they can be held liable for the actions of emergency medical personnel working under their supervision.

The next element a plaintiff needs to establish is that the defendant failed to meet the standard of care in the circumstances. This element is only proven through experts' testimony regarding acceptable medical practices and the defendant's inability to follow these guidelines. The second element is that the breach directly affected the patient. To prove malpractice, your lawyer will need to prove that the defendant's breach of duty directly caused your injury or the wrongful death of a loved one. This concept is known as causal proximate. For instance, if negligence alleged by the defendant wouldn't have had a negative impact on your health regardless of whether it was done or not, you won't be able to recover damages for any injuries or wrongful deaths that were allegedly resulted from the negligence of the doctor.

Breach of Duty

A doctor who fails to perform their duty of professional care to a patient may be held accountable for negligence. To prevail in a medical negligence lawsuit, the injured party must establish four elements: a duty of care existed and that the doctor breached the duty and the breach resulted in injuries, and then the injury caused damages. The standard of care is the primary aspect in a medical malpractice case, and is determined by expert testimony. The standard of care is defined as the things that an "reasonably prudent" doctor would do in similar or similar circumstances.

The physician's violation of this obligation occurs when he/she deviates from the standard of care in giving treatment to the patient. If a physician fractures the arm of a patient he or she may fail to cast the right way. A doctor's breach causes the broken arm to heal in a wrong way. This could result in either a complete or partial loss of use, as well as financial damages.

Medical malpractice cases are filed in state trial courts, although under limited circumstances, federal courts may also be able to hear these cases. Each of the 94 federal district courts in the United States has a judge-jury panel that hears medical malpractice cases. The majority of states have state courts that specialize in these cases, though they follow different rules of procedure than federal district courts.

Causation

A patient could be entitled compensation for damages if doctors fail to fulfill their obligation to avoid harm. Medical malpractice claims could also arise if the doctor is performing a procedure that has known risks, and the patient wouldn't have agreed to the procedure if they had been fully informed.

In a medical malpractice case the plaintiff must demonstrate that the doctor did not act in accordance to accepted standards of practice. This negligence must have been the primary cause of any illness or injury suffered by the patient and the ailment would never occur if it weren't for the physician’s negligence. This burden of proof is referred to as the "preponderance of evidence" standard that is less arduous than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard used to convict criminal defendants.

Medical malpractice lawsuits often involve expert witness testimony as well as lengthy discovery procedures prior to trial. Both sides spend a lot of time and money making preparations for a case whether it is settled or if it is a court case. This is the primary reason why malpractice claims are expensive for both the plaintiff and the physician affected, and is one of the reasons that physicians and health care organizations are in favor of reforming tort law in the United States.

Damages

Based on the nature of medical negligence, victims are able to seek punitive and compensatory damages. Compensatory damages compensate patients for financial losses and costs resulted from the negligence of the doctor, such as loss of income or the cost of future medical malpractice law firm care. Non-economic damages include compensation for physical pain as well as mental distress.

Medical malpractice claims are filed in state trial courts. However, there are certain situations where a lawsuit could be filed in federal court. This is typically where a doctor is employed by a federally funded facility such as the Veteran's Administration, or if the doctor is from another country, but is working in the United States under a treaty of extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Lawsuits claiming Medical Malpractice Law Firm malpractice are generally adversarial and involve large amounts of legal discovery. This may include written interrogatories as well as depositions as well as requests for documents. The victims of alleged medical negligence may also have to endure a jury trial and are at risk of their claim being rejected by a court or dismissed by a jury.

In order to win a medical negligence claim, you must prove that the error or negligence of a medical professional caused your injury. The injury has to be severe enough to warrant a monetary award that covers your financial losses and emotional stress. New York medical malpractice law also has certain damage caps, and other limitations on the amount patients can be awarded should they be successful in filing a claim.