Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation
Malpractice litigation is a complicated procedure. If a patient is able to prove four elements, it will determine whether or not the error is malpractice. These are the following: a professional obligation or breach of that duty; a loss resulting from the breach; and quantifiable damage.
Plaintiffs must be able to prove the elements using evidence like expert testimony and depositions.
Incorrect diagnosis and inability to diagnose
The inability of a doctor to diagnose an illness or injury could result in serious complications or even death. Incorrect diagnosis is a common cause of medical malpractice. To prove negligence, the patient or their attorney must show that a competent doctor under similar circumstances and in the same area would not have missed the diagnosis.
A misdiagnosis is not always malpractice. Even highly-trained and experienced doctors can make mistakes. Therefore, any claim for malpractice must be backed by other elements, such as breach, proximate cause or actual injury. For example the case where a physician fails to properly clean their equipment prior the time they administer anesthesia and the patient suffers an infection as a result the doctor may be guilty of malpractice.
In the majority of cases, lawsuits that allege malpractice will be filed in the state trial court where the alleged misconduct occurred. Federal courts may be able to handle the case in certain situations. For instance, a lawsuit could be filed in federal court if it involves disputes over the time limit or if there is a substantial variation in the citizenship of the parties in the case. Some claims can be resolved through binding arbitration that is voluntary. This is a less formal procedure which involves professional decision makers and is designed to cut costs, speed up legal proceedings and reduce the possibility of excessively generous juries. Arbitration is not available in all instances of malpractice.
Wrong Drug Dosage
Medication mistakes, also referred to as medication errors, are one of the most common causes of medical malpractice legal lawsuits. These errors can be caused by a doctor writing a prescription in a wrong format or giving the patient the wrong dosage. These mistakes are often avoidable. Based on the circumstances the pharmacy, hospital or other health care providers could be held responsible for the harm caused by an individual who took the wrong dose of a drug.
A doctor could prescribe the incorrect medication to a patient as a result of an inaccurate diagnosis or simply by misreading the prescription. A health care professional could also administer the wrong dosage due to an inability to communicate for example, when a nurse reads a doctor’s handwritten script incorrectly or the pharmacist commits an error in filling the prescription. In other instances the doctor may delay giving the correct medication, which can cause the patient’s condition to worsening.
A person who suffers from a medical malpractice claim must prove, Malpractice Litigation in order to win a malpractice claim, Malpractice Litigation that the medical professional breached their standards of practice and that their injuries were directly caused by the negligence. This requires the testimony of a medical expert. Additionally, a medical malpractice case must prove the extent of the injuries suffered by a victim and the damage they sustained as a result of the negligence. This includes the cost of a person’s treatment and any wages lost. In general, the greater a person’s losses are, the more valuable the claim will be.
The wrong procedure
This kind of situation is not unusual. It might seem unattainable for medical professionals to perform the incorrect procedure on patients but it does happen. The surgeon who commits this mistake could be held responsible for malpractice. However patients who are injured due to a surgical error may also be held liable for any negligence that occurred along the way to the procedure.
A health professional accused of malpractice must prove that the patient was injured due to an action or inability to take action. To prove this the legal team representing the patient must demonstrate that: (1) the doctor was in an obligation to provide treatment or treatment; (2) that the doctor breached this duty; (3) that there is a direct causal relationship between the breach and the injury; and (4) that the injury causes damages which the legal system has the power to deal with.
A breach of duty of care has no significance unless it results in injury. This is why medical malpractice compensation cases are usually dependent on the lawful doctrine «res ipsa locquitur» which states that certain injuries are so obvious that they can only be explained by negligence.
Depending on the facts of the situation, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally appointed representative) or their attorney may make the claim in a federal or state court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state courts, but in certain situations the medical negligence lawsuit can be filed in federal district court.
Wrong Surgery
The procedure that is performed on the wrong site is not common, but can be considered medical malpractice attorneys in the event that the procedure is carried out in the wrong location of your body. This type of mistake is usually caused by miscommunications between members of the surgical team or pressures on production that result in a surgeon having multiple surgeries scheduled at the same time. In these cases, the surgeon is not the only one with responsibility for an incorrect-site procedure since there is the legal principle known as «res ipsa loquitur» which means that the effect of the error is evident and cannot be attributed to negligence.
If someone is injured during an operation that was performed on the wrong site it is possible that the patient will need additional procedures to correct problems that were made worse by the mistake. Patients and their families are left with costly medical bills. It is important to take these costs into consideration when calculating the financial costs of medical malpractice claims.
Surgeons are usually found to be responsible for surgical mistakes because they are the ones who are responsible for properly making preparations for the operation by double-checking patient’s chart and medical records, communicating effectively with the other members of the medical team, and making sure the incision is placed at the right place. In some instances hospitals or anesthesiologists could also be held accountable. Medical malpractice claims are usually filed in state courts, however, in certain situations they may be transferred to federal court.