Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation
The process of bringing a malpractice lawsuit is a complex procedure. If a patient is able to prove four elements, it will be able to determine whether or not the mistake is a case of malpractice. These are professional obligations or breach of that obligation; a repercussion from the breach; and quantifiable damages.
Plaintiffs must also demonstrate these elements with evidence like expert testimony, depositions and discovery.
Misdiagnosis and Failure to Diagnose
The failure of a physician to accurately diagnose a disease or injury could result in serious complications or even death. Many medical malpractice cases involve incorrect diagnosis. To establish negligence, a patient or their lawyer needs to prove that a seasoned doctor in similar circumstances would not have misdiagnosed an illness.
Every misdiagnosis can be considered to be malpractice, however. Even highly experienced and trained doctors can make errors. Therefore, a claim for malpractice must be backed by other elements such as breach, proximate reason and actual injury. If a doctor does not sterilize his equipment prior to administering anesthesia and the patient develops an infection due to this, the doctor might be guilty.
Legal actions claiming malpractice are usually filed in state trial courts where the alleged error occurred. However, federal courts may have jurisdiction in certain situations. For instance, a claim may be brought in federal court in the event of disputes over the time limit or when there is a significant diversity of citizenship of those involved in the dispute. Some claims are settled by binding arbitration. This is a less formal process with professional decision makers. It is intended to save costs, speed up legal proceedings and remove the risk of overly generous juries. Arbitration is not always available in cases of misconduct.
The wrong dosage of medication
Medication errors, also known as medication mistakes, are one of the most common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can result from a doctor prescribing a prescription in error or administering the wrong dosage to patients. These errors are typically preventable. Based on the circumstances the pharmacy, 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 drug.
A doctor might prescribe the wrong medication because of a misdiagnosis. Or, simply not understanding the prescription correctly. A health professional may also administer the wrong dose due to a breakdown in communication like when nurses read a doctor’s handwritten script incorrectly or the pharmacist makes an error in filling the prescription. In other instances the doctor may delay delivering the correct medication, which can result in the patient’s health getting worse.
To be successful in a malpractice lawsuit, a victim must prove that the medical professional acted in breach of their standard of care and that the negligence directly caused the injuries. This requires medical expert testimony. In addition, a medical mishap case must establish the severity of the injuries suffered by a victim and the damages they suffered because of the negligence. This includes the cost of treatment for a patient and any lost wages. The greater the loss is, the more valuable of the claim.
Wrong Procedure
It might seem unlikely that medical professionals could perform the incorrect procedure on a patient however, this type of event does occur. A surgeon who makes this error could be held liable for negligence. If a patient is injured as a result of an error during surgery can be held responsible for any mistakes that were made during the procedure.
Any health care professional who is accused of misconduct must prove that the patient was harmed by a specific act or omission to act. To establish this, the patient’s legal team must prove that: (1) the doctor was bound by an obligation to provide care 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 results in damages which the legal system has the power to resolve.
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 known as “res ipsa loquitur.” This law says that, in a majority of cases certain injuries are obvious and recognizable that they are only explained by negligent acts.
Based on the facts the plaintiff (the person who filed the claim, or their legal representative) or their lawyer may decide to file the claim in either state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state courts, however under certain circumstances, a medical malpractice lawsuit can be brought in federal district court.
Wrong Surgery
A wrong-site procedure is a rare mistake, but it could be considered medical malpractice when the procedure is performed on the wrong part of the body. This type of error usually occurs as caused by a lack of communication between the members of a surgical team or production pressure that results in an individual surgeon being assigned multiple surgeries at the same time. In these instances the surgeon is not solely accountable for a mistaken-site operation due to the legal principle known as “res ipsa locquitur” which says that the outcome is a matter of fact and cannot be blamed on negligence.
If a patient is injured during an improper procedure it is possible that the patient will require additional procedures in order to correct problems that were aggravated due to the error. This leads to costly medical expenses for patients as well as their families. This expense should be considered when calculating the financial impact of medical malpractice claims.
Surgeons are typically found to be responsible for surgical mistakes because they are the ones who are responsible for properly preparing for the operation as well as double-checking the patient’s charts and medical records, communicating effectively with the other members of the medical team, and making sure that the incision has been placed at the right place. However, in some cases an anesthesiologist or a hospital could be held accountable. Medical malpractice lawsuits are typically filed in state court, but may be transferred in certain circumstances to federal court.
