Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation
The legal process for defending malpractice is a complex process. The degree to which an error constitutes malpractice law firm depends on whether the patient can establish four legal elements that include a professional obligation and breach of this duty; injury resulted from the breach and the possibility of quantifiable damages.
Plaintiffs must demonstrate these elements with evidence like expert testimony, depositions, or discovery.
Undiagnosed or Incorrectly Diagnosed
A physician’s inability to accurately diagnose a disease or injury could result in grave complications, or even death. A large number of medical malpractice cases involve misdiagnosis. To prove negligence, malpractice lawsuits the patient or their attorney must show that a competent physician under similar circumstances and working in the same field would not have misdiagnosed the condition.
Every misdiagnosis can be considered to be negligence, but. Even highly-trained and experienced doctors are not immune to mistakes. Therefore, any claim of malpractice must be supported with other elements such as breach, proximate causes and actual injury. If a doctor fails to sterilize his equipment prior to giving anesthesia and the patient becomes infected due to this, he could be liable.
In most instances, lawsuits claiming malpractice will be filed in the state trial court where the malpractice was alleged to have occurred. Federal courts can be able to handle the case in certain circumstances. For instance, a claim may be brought in federal court in the event of disputes over the statute of limitations or when there is a significant difference in citizenship among the parties to the case. Certain disputes are settled through arbitral arbitration, which is a binding process. This is a less formal procedure which involves professionals who make the decisions. It is designed to minimize costs, speed up legal proceedings, and eliminate the risks associated with generous juries. However, arbitration is not available for all claims of malpractice.
The wrong dosage of medication
Medication mistakes, also referred to as medication errors, are among the most common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. These errors are caused by a doctor who has submitted prescriptions in the wrong format, or giving the patient the wrong dosage. These errors are usually avoidable. Depending on the circumstances, a hospital or its staff, a pharmacist or other health professionals may be held liable for the injuries of the patient who received the wrong dosage of medication.
A doctor may prescribe the wrong drug because of a misdiagnosis. Or, simply not understanding the prescription correctly. A health care professional may also administer the wrong dosage because of a glitch in communication. For instance the nurse might take a doctor’s prescription and read it incorrectly or a pharmacist could have a mistake while filling the prescription. In other instances the doctor might delay the administration of the correct medication, which can cause the patient’s illness to getting worse.
A person seeking compensation must prove, in order to win a malpractice lawsuit, that the medical professional violated their professional standards and that their injuries were directly attributed to the negligence. This requires medical experts to be able to testify. Additionally, a medical malpractice case must demonstrate the extent of a victim’s injuries and the damages they suffered as a result of the negligence. This includes the cost of treatment for a patient and any lost wages. The more money you lose, the higher the value of the claim.
Incorrect Procedure
This kind of incident is not uncommon. It may seem like a challenge for medical professionals to perform the incorrect procedure on patients however, it happens. The surgeon who commits this kind of error could be held to be liable for negligence. A patient who suffers injury due to an error during surgery can be held responsible for any error that occurred during the procedure.
Any health care professional who is accused of misconduct must prove that the patient was hurt through a specific act or inaction. To establish this the legal team representing the patient must prove that: (1) the doctor had an obligation to provide care or treatment; (2) that the doctor breached the duty of care; (3) that there is a direct causal connection between the breach and the injury; and (4) that the injury results in damages which the legal system has the power to resolve.
A breach of duty of care is no significance unless it results in injury. This is the reason medical malpractice cases tend to be dependent on the lawful doctrine “res ipsa locquitur” which says that certain injuries are so obvious they can only be explained through negligence.
Depending on the circumstances of the case, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally appointed representative) or their attorney may present the claim to state or federal court. Most malpractice cases are filed in state court, however in certain situations medical malpractice lawsuits can be brought in federal district court.
Wrong Surgery
Wrong-site surgery is a rare error, but it may be considered medical malpractice if the procedure is performed on the wrong side of the body. This type of error usually occurs as the result of miscommunication between members of a surgical team, or production pressure that leads to the surgeon being assigned multiple surgeries at one time. In these situations the surgeon isn’t solely responsible for malpractice lawsuits a misplaced procedure due to a legal rule known as “res ipsa locquitur” which states that the outcome speaks for itself and cannot be blamed on negligence.