공지사항

Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

Malpractice litigation is a complicated procedure. If an error is considered to be malpractice law is dependent on the ability of the patient to establish four legal elements such as a professional duty; breach of this duty; harm resulting from the breach; and damages that can be quantifiable.

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

Incorrect diagnosis and failure to diagnose

Failure to correctly diagnose an injury or illness correctly can lead to serious complications, or death. Incorrect diagnosis is a common cause of medical negligence. To prove negligence, the patient or their lawyer must demonstrate that a competent doctor under similar circumstances and working in the same specialty would not have misdiagnosed the condition.

There are many misdiagnosis that could be considered malpractice law, however. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors make mistakes, and a claim of malpractice must be backed 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 gets infected as a result of this, he could be held accountable.

In most instances, lawsuits claiming that there was a mistake will be filed in the state trial court where the malpractice was alleged to have occurred. However, federal courts could be able to handle cases in certain circumstances. For instance, a lawsuit could be filed in federal court if there is a dispute over the time limit or if there is a substantial diversity of citizenship of those involved in the dispute. Certain disputes are settled through binding arbitration. This is a less formal process that involves professional decision makers. It is designed to cut expenses, speed up the legal process, and remove the risks associated with large juries. Arbitration is not available in all cases of malpractice.

Wrong Drug Dosage

Medication errors--also called medication mistakes--are among the most common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can involve a physician prescribing a prescription in error or giving the wrong dosage to patients. These errors are often preventable. Depending on the circumstances the hospital or its staff, pharmacist or other health professionals may be held liable for the injuries of the patient who received the wrong dosage of a drug.

A doctor could prescribe wrong medication to a patient as a result of an inaccurate diagnosis or simply due to a misreading of the prescription. A health professional could also give the wrong dosage due to a breakdown in communication. For instance nurses may take a doctor's prescription and read it incorrectly or a pharmacist may make a mistake when filling the prescription. In other instances, a physician might delay the administration of the correct medication to the patient, which could result in the patient's condition getting worse.

A person who suffers from a medical malpractice claim must prove, to be successful in a malpractice claim that the medical professional violated their standards of practice and that their injuries were directly caused by the negligence. This requires medical experts to provide evidence. Additionally, a medical malpractice case must demonstrate the extent of the victim's injuries as well as the damage they sustained as a result of the negligence. This includes the cost of a person's treatment and any lost wages. The more money you lose the greater the value of the claim.

Unskillful Procedure

It might seem unlikely that medical professionals would perform the wrong procedure on a patient but this type of incident does occur. A surgeon who commits this mistake could be held to be liable for malpractice. However, a patient who is injured by a surgical mistake could also be held accountable for any negligence that occurred the path to the procedure.

Any health care professional who is accused of misconduct must show that the patient was harmed by a specific action or inaction. To prove this, the legal team representing the patient must show: (1) that the doctor malpractice claim had a responsibility to treat or provide care to the patient; (2) that he violated his duty; (3) that a causal link exists between the breach and the injury and (4) the injuries result in damages that the legal system can address.

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

Based on the facts of the case, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally designated representative) or their lawyer may make the claim in a federal or state court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state courts, however in certain circumstances the case of medical negligence can be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

Surgery performed on the wrong site is a very rare mistake, but it could be considered medical negligence if the procedure is carried out on the wrong portion of the body. This type of error usually occurs as due to miscommunication between the members of a surgical team, or production pressure that leads to a surgeon being assigned multiple surgeries at once. In these cases the surgeon is not solely responsible for an incorrect-site procedure due to a legal rule known as "res ipsa locquitur", which states that the result speaks for itself and cannot be attributed to negligence.

When a patient is injured as a result of surgery done on the wrong location it is possible that he or she will require additional procedures to fix problems caused by the mistake. Patients and their families are left with high medical bills. This expense should be considered when calculating the financial consequences of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Surgeons are often held liable for surgical errors as they are the ones who are responsible for properly getting ready for the procedure by double-checking patient's chart and medical records, coordinating effectively with the other members of the medical team and making sure the incision is made on the correct site. However, in some instances an anesthesiologist or a hospital could also be liable. Medical malpractice cases are usually filed in state courts, but they may be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.