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Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

Malpractice litigation is a tense process. Whether or not the error constitutes malpractice depends on whether the patient can establish four legal elements: a professional duty breach of this duty; harm caused by the breach and tangible damages.

Plaintiffs must also demonstrate these elements with evidence such as expert testimony, depositions, and discovery.

Incorrect diagnosis and failure to diagnose

A physician's inability to accurately diagnose a disease or injury can result in serious complications or even death. Many medical malpractice cases result from misdiagnosis. To prove negligence, a person or their lawyer must prove that a seasoned doctor in similar circumstances would not have misdiagnosed a condition.

Misdiagnosis does not always constitute negligence. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors make mistakes, so any claim of malpractice has to be supported by other elements such as breach, proximate causality and actual injury. If a physician fails to sterilize his equipment prior the time he administers anesthesia and the patient becomes infected due to this, the doctor may be found to be negligent.

The majority of lawsuits involving malpractice are filed in state trial courts where the alleged malpractice took place. However, federal courts may have jurisdiction under limited circumstances. A claim may be filed before a federal court in certain circumstances. For example it could be disputes over a statute of limitation or when the parties are of different nationalities. Alternatively, some claims are settled through voluntary binding arbitration. This is a less formal process which involves professional decision makers and is designed to cut costs, expedite legal proceedings and reduce the possibility of excessively generous juries. Arbitration is not always available in cases of misconduct.

Wrong Drug Dosage

Medication errors, also known as medication mistakes, are one of the main causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. These errors could be caused by a physician submitting a prescription in the wrong format or giving the patient the wrong dosage. These errors are typically preventable. According to the circumstances, a hospital, its staff, a pharmacist or other health care professionals could be held accountable for the injuries suffered by a patient who was given the wrong drug dosage.

A doctor might prescribe the wrong drug because of a misdiagnosis or by simply not understanding the prescription correctly. A health professional can also administer the incorrect dosage due to a failure in communication. For instance nurses might not read a doctor's prescription correctly or a pharmacist may make an error when filling the prescription. In other instances, the physician may delay giving the correct medication, which can cause the patient's illness to getting worse.

To prevail in an action for malpractice, a victim must show that the medical professional breached their standard of care, and that the negligence directly caused their injuries. This requires medical expert testimony. A medical malpractice attorneys case also must prove the extent and damages of the victim's injuries. This includes the cost of treatment and any wage loss. The greater loss is in the greater value of the claim will be.

Wrong Procedure

It might seem unlikely that medical professionals would carry out the wrong procedure on a patient, but this type of mishap occurs. If a surgeon makes this error can be found to be liable for malpractice settlement. However the patient who is injured as a result of a surgical error could also be held accountable for any negligence that occurred the process.

A health professional accused of malpractice must prove that the patient was injured due to an act or failure to perform the act. To establish this the legal team of the patient must show: (1) that the doctor was legally obligated to provide care or treat the patient; (2) that he failed to fulfill his obligation; (3) that a causal connection exists between the breach and the injury and (4) the injury causes damages that the legal system can deal with.

A breach of duty of care has no meaning unless it results in injury. This is the reason why medical malpractice cases are typically built on the legal principle "res ipsa locquitur," which says that certain injuries are so obvious they can only be explained by negligence.

Based on the facts of the situation, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally appointed representative) or their attorney could make the claim in a federal or state court. Most malpractice cases are filed in state court. However, under limited circumstances the medical malpractice lawsuit can be brought in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

Surgery performed on the wrong site is a very rare error, but it may be considered medical malpractice when the procedure is performed on the wrong side of the body. This type of error is often caused by miscommunications between the surgical team, or by pressures on production that result in a surgeon having multiple surgeries assigned at once. In these cases the surgeon isn't all-in on his liability for a wrong-site surgery since there is a legal rule known as "res ipsa loquitur" which means that the result of the error is evident and cannot be attributed to negligence.

If a patient is injured during surgery that is performed on the wrong site and is injured, they may require additional procedures to fix problems caused by the surgical error. Patients and their families are left with expensive medical bills. It is important to take these costs into consideration when calculating the financial burden of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Surgeons are typically found to be responsible for surgical mistakes because they are the individuals who are accountable for malpractice litigation getting ready for the procedure as well as double-checking the patient's charts and medical records, coordinating effectively with the other members of the medical team and making sure that the incision has been done at the correct place. In certain instances hospitals or anesthesiologists can also be held liable. Medical malpractice cases are typically filed in state courts, but under certain circumstances they may be transferred to federal courts.