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Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

The process of bringing a malpractice lawsuit is a complex procedure. The degree to which the error constitutes malpractice depends on the ability of the patient to prove four legal elements which include professional duty; breach of this duty; injury caused by the breach and the possibility of quantifiable damages.

Plaintiffs must also prove the facts using evidence, such as expert testimony and depositions.

Undiagnosed or Incorrectly Diagnosed

A physician's inability to accurately diagnose an illness or injury can lead to serious complications or even death. Many medical malpractice cases involve mistaken diagnosis. To prove negligence, a patient or their lawyer needs to prove that a qualified doctor in similar circumstances would not have misdiagnosed a problem.

It is not always a case of malpractice, however. Even highly-trained and experienced doctors can make errors. Therefore, a claim of malpractice must be backed up by other elements like breach, proximate cause and actual injury. If a doctor fails sterilize his equipment prior the time he administers anesthesia, and the patient becomes infected because of this, the doctor may be liable.

In most instances, lawsuits claiming that there was a mistake will be filed in the state trial court in which the malpractice was alleged to have occurred. Federal courts could be able to handle the case in certain situations. A case may be brought before a federal court in specific circumstances. For example it could involve a dispute about the statute of limitations or when the parties are of different citizenships. In other cases, certain claims are settled through voluntary binding arbitration. This is a less formal procedure that is governed by professional decision makers. It is designed to minimize costs, speed up legal proceedings, and eliminate the risk that comes with large juries. However, arbitration isn't available for all malpractice attorney claims.

Dosage for a drug that is not correct

Medication errors are one of the most common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. These errors can be caused by a doctor who has submitted prescriptions in the wrong format or giving the patient the incorrect dosage. These errors are generally preventable. Based on the circumstances an individual pharmacy, hospital or other health care providers could be held accountable for the injuries resulting from patients who were given the wrong dosage of a medication.

A doctor may prescribe the wrong medication to a patient because of an incorrect diagnosis or simply by misreading the prescription. A health professional may also administer the wrong dosage due to a breakdown in communication for instance, when nurses read the handwritten prescription of a doctor incorrectly or the pharmacist is mistaken in filling the prescription. In other instances, a physician might delay in administering the correct medication to the patient, resulting in their condition becoming worse.

To win an action for malpractice, a victim must establish that the medical professional acted in breach of their standard of care and that negligence directly caused the injuries. This requires the testimony of a medical expert. Furthermore, a medical negligence case must demonstrate the extent of a victim's injuries and the damages they sustained because of the negligence. This includes the costs of treatment as well as any lost wages. The more money you lose of the claim, the greater the value of the claim.

Wrong Procedure

It's not likely that medical professionals would carry out the incorrect procedure on a patient, but this type of mishap can occur. A surgeon who commits the mistake could be held accountable for negligence. However patients who are injured due to a surgical error may also be held liable for any negligence that occurred along the path to the procedure.

Any health care professional who is alleged to be negligent must prove that the patient was harmed through a specific act or omission to act. To prove this the legal counsel of the patient must demonstrate that: (1) the doctor was under 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 that the legal system could deal with.

A breach of the duty of care is meaningless unless it causes injury that's why medical malpractice claims are usually based on a legal doctrine called "res ipsa loquitur." This law says that, in the majority of cases certain injuries are so obvious and unmistakable that they cannot be explained except by negligent actions.

Based on the facts the plaintiff (the person who filed the claim or their legal representative) or their lawyer may decide to file the case in state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state court. However, under limited circumstances medical malpractice lawsuits may be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

The wrong-site surgery is rare, but can be considered medical malpractice when the procedure is performed in the wrong location of your body. This kind of error is often caused by miscommunication between the members of a surgical team, or production pressure that leads to the surgeon being tasked with multiple surgeries at the same time. In these situations, the surgeon is not alone in his or her responsibility for a surgical error that is not performed correctly due to a legal principle called "res ipsa loquitur" which means that the consequence of the error is evident and can only be attributed to negligence.

When a patient is injured during surgery that is performed on the wrong site, he or she may require additional procedures to repair problems exacerbated by the surgical error. Patients and their families are left with high medical bills. These expenses must be considered when calculating the financial impact of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Most often, surgeons are held responsible for surgical mistakes. They are accountable to prepare the patient for the procedure, as well as checking the medical records and charts of the patient, communicating with the medical personnel, and ensuring that the incision was placed in the proper location. In some instances, hospitals or anesthesiologists may also be held responsible. Medical malpractice claims are usually filed in state courts, however, in certain situations they may be transferred to federal courts.