Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

The legal process for malpractice defending malpractice is a complex procedure. If a patient can demonstrate four factors, it will determine whether or not the error is malpractice. These are the following: a professional obligation in breach of this obligation; an injury that results from the breach; and quantifiable damage.

Plaintiffs must demonstrate these elements with evidence like expert testimony, depositions, or discovery.

Misdiagnosis and Failure to Diagnose

Failure to diagnose an illness or injury accurately can cause serious complications, or death. It is a typical reason for medical negligence. To prove negligence, a person or their lawyer must show that an experienced doctor in similar circumstances would not have misdiagnosed an illness.

A misdiagnosis is not always malpractice. Even the most skilled and trained doctors make mistakes, so any claim of malpractice has to be supported by other factors like breach, proximate causation and actual injury. If a doctor fails sterilize his equipment prior to giving anesthesia and the patient gets infected due to this, the doctor could be guilty.

Lawsuits alleging malpractice are typically filed in state trial courts, where the alleged misconduct occurred. However, federal courts might have jurisdiction under limited circumstances. A claim can be brought before a federal court under certain circumstances. For instance it could involve the issue of the statute of limitations or if the parties are of different citizenships. Certain claims are settled through arbitration that is binding and voluntary. This is a less formal procedure that involves professionals who make the decisions. It is designed to cut costs, expedite legal proceedings and reduce the possibility of excessively generous juries. Arbitration is not available in all cases of malpractice.

Dosage of a drug that is incorrect

Medication errors, also referred as medication errors are among the main reasons for medical malpractice suits. These errors can be caused by a doctor who has submitted prescriptions in the wrong format, or giving the patient the wrong dosage. These errors are typically preventable. Based on the circumstances, a pharmacy, a hospital or other health care provider could be held responsible for the injuries resulting from a patient who was given the wrong dose of a medication.

A doctor could prescribe the wrong medicine because of a misdiagnosis, or simply making a mistake in the prescription. A health care professional could also administer the wrong dosage because of a breakdown in communication, such as when a nurse reads a doctor's handwritten script incorrectly or the pharmacist commits an error in filling the prescription. In other instances doctors may delay administering the correct medication to the patient, resulting in their condition becoming worse.

A plaintiff must prove to be successful in a malpractice lawsuit, that the medical professional violated their professional standards and that their injuries were directly caused by the negligence. This requires medical experts to be present. A medical malpractice claim also must establish the extent and severity of the victim's injuries. This includes the cost of treatment as well as any wage loss. The greater loss is then, the more valuable the claim will be.

Wrong Procedure

It may seem impossible that medical professionals could perform the wrong procedure on a patient however, this type of event can occur. A surgeon who makes this mistake can be held liable for negligence. A patient who suffers injury because of an error during surgery can be held responsible for any mistakes that were made during the procedure.

Any health professional who is accused of malpractice must show that the patient was harmed by a specific act or omission to act. To establish this, the legal team representing the patient must demonstrate: (1) that the doctor had a responsibility to provide treatment or care to the patient; (2) that he violated his duty; (3) that a causal connection exists between the negligence and injury and (4) the injuries result in damages that which the legal system may address.

A breach of duty of care is no meaning unless it result in injury. This is the reason medical malpractice cases are often based on the legal doctrine "res ipsa locquitur," which says that certain injuries are so obvious that they can be explained only through negligence.

Depending on the circumstances of the situation, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally appointed representative) or their attorney could bring the case in state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed with state courts, however in certain situations the case of medical negligence may be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

The procedure that is performed on the wrong site is not common but it can be considered medical malpractice attorney when the procedure is done in the wrong area of your body. This type of error is usually caused by a lack of communication between the surgical team, or by production pressures that result in a surgeon having multiple surgeries assigned at once. In these situations, a surgeon is not solely responsible for a wrong-site procedure because of a legal principle known as "res ipsa locquitur" which says that the outcome speaks for itself and cannot be attributed to negligence.

If a patient gets injured by wrong-site surgery it is possible that he or she will require additional procedures to correct issues that were caused by the surgical mistake. This can result in high medical expenses for the patient and their families. These expenses must be taken into consideration when calculating the financial impact of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Surgeons are usually found to be responsible for surgical mistakes because they are the individuals who are responsible for getting ready for the procedure and double-checking the patient's medical chart and medical records, communicating effectively with other members of the medical team and making sure that the incision is made on the correct site. However, in some instances a hospital or anesthesiologist may also be accountable. Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually filed in state courts, however, in certain situations they may be transferred to federal courts.