Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation
The process of bringing a malpractice lawsuit is a complex procedure. If a person can prove four elements, it will decide whether or not the mistake is a case of malpractice. These are professional obligations in breach of this duty; a loss resulting from the breach; and measurable damage.
Plaintiffs must demonstrate these elements with evidence such as expert testimony, depositions and discovery.
Incorrect diagnosis and failure to diagnose
Failure to identify an injury or illness correctly can cause serious complications, or even death. It is a typical cause of medical malpractice. To prove negligence the patient or their attorney must prove that a competent physician under similar circumstances and working in the same area would not have missed the diagnosis.
A misdiagnosis is not always negligence. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors make mistakes, and the claim of malpractice must be supported by other factors like breach, proximate cause and actual injury. For example If a doctor does not properly sterilize their equipment prior to giving anesthesia, and the patient develops an infection due to the infection, the doctor could be guilty of malpractice.
In the majority of cases, lawsuits alleging malpractice will be filed in the state trial court where the malpractice was alleged to have occurred. Federal courts may be able to hear cases in certain circumstances. A claim may be filed before a federal court in specific circumstances. For instance, it may involve a dispute about a statute of limitation or if the parties are of different nationalities. Certain disputes are settled through arbitral arbitration, which is a binding process. This is a less formal process that is governed by professional decision makers. It is designed to reduce expenses, speed up the legal process, and reduce the risks associated with generous juries. However, arbitration is not accessible for malpractice lawsuit all malpractice claims.
Wrong Drug Dosage
Medication errors, also known as medication mistakes, are one of the most common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. These errors are caused by a physician who writes prescriptions in a wrong format or giving the patient the incorrect dosage. These errors are generally preventable. Based on the circumstances the hospital or its staff, pharmacist or other health care provider could be held responsible for the injuries sustained by a patient who was given the wrong dosage of a drug.
A doctor can prescribe the wrong medicine because of a misdiagnosis. Or, simply misreading the prescription. A health care provider may also administer the wrong dose due to an inability to communicate like when the nurse reads a doctor’s handwritten script incorrectly or the pharmacist commits an error in filling out the prescription. In other instances the doctor may delay the administration of the correct medication to the patient, which could result in their condition becoming worse.
To win a malpractice lawsuit, a victim must establish that the medical professional breached their duty of care and that the negligence directly contributed to the injuries. This requires medical expert testimony. A medical malpractice case must prove the severity and the damages caused by the victim’s injuries. This includes the cost of treatment and any lost wages. Generally, the greater a person’s losses are, the more valuable the claim will be.
The wrong procedure
It might seem unlikely for medical professionals to perform the wrong procedure on a patient however, this type of event does occur. A surgeon who makes this mistake could be held accountable for negligence. However, a patient who is injured as a result of a surgical error can also be held accountable for any negligence that occurred on the path to the procedure.
Any health care professional who is accused of negligence must prove that the patient was harmed through a specific act or inaction. To establish this the legal team of the patient has to prove: (1) that the doctor was required to provide care or treat the patient; (2) that he breached that duty; (3) that a causal connection exists between the breach and the injury and (4) the injury results in damages the legal system can address.
A breach of the duty of care is not relevant unless it causes injury which is why medical malpractice claims are usually built on a legal concept called “res ipsa loquitur.” This law states that, in the majority of cases certain injuries are so evident and obvious that they cannot be explained except by negligence.
Based on the circumstances the plaintiff (the person who filed the claim or their legal representative) or their lawyer can decide to file a lawsuit either in state or federal court. Most malpractice cases are filed in state court, however in certain situations, a medical malpractice attorneys lawsuit (link homepage) can be filed in federal district court.
Wrong Surgery
The wrong-site procedure is rare but it could be considered medical malpractice when the procedure is performed in the wrong part of your body. This type of error is usually due to miscommunication between the members of a surgical team or production pressure that results in the surgeon being tasked with multiple surgeries simultaneously. In these situations, the surgeon is not solely responsible for his or her liability for a wrong-site surgery due to a legal principle called “res ipsa loquitur” which means that the result of the error speaks for itself and can only be attributed to negligence.
If a patient is injured during a wrong-site procedure it is possible that the patient will require additional procedures in order to correct issues that were caused by the error. This could result in expensive medical expenses for patients as well as their families. This expense should be taken into consideration when calculating the financial consequences of medical malpractice lawsuits.
Most often surgeons are held accountable for surgical mistakes. They are responsible to prepare the patient for surgery, reviewing the medical records and charts of the patient, coordinating with the rest of the medical personnel, and ensuring that the incision was placed at the right place. However, in certain instances a hospital or malpractice lawsuit anesthesiologist may also be liable. Medical malpractice cases are usually filed in state courts, but may be transferred in certain circumstances to federal court.