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Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

Malpractice litigation is a complicated process. Whether or not an error is considered to be malpractice is dependent on whether the patient is able to prove four legal elements such as a professional duty breach of this duty; harm caused by the breach and the possibility of quantifiable damages.

Plaintiffs must also prove the elements using evidence like expert testimony and depositions.

Misdiagnosis and Failure to Diagnose

The failure of a physician to accurately diagnose a disease or injury can result in grave complications, or even death. It is a typical cause of medical malpractice. To establish negligence, a patient or their lawyer needs to prove that an experienced doctor in similar circumstances would not have misdiagnosed a condition.

Misdiagnosis doesn't always mean malpractice attorney. Even experienced and highly trained doctors are not immune to mistakes. Therefore, any claim of malpractice has to be backed by other elements like breach, proximate cause and actual injury. If a doctor fails sterilize his equipment prior to giving anesthesia and the patient is infected due to this, the doctor could be held accountable.

In most cases, lawsuits that allege malpractice will be filed in the state trial court in which the alleged misconduct occurred. Federal courts could be able to handle the case in certain instances. For instance, a claim could be filed in federal court if there is an issue regarding the statute of limitations or in the event of a significant variety of citizenship among the parties involved in the case. Alternatively, some claims are settled through voluntary binding arbitration. This is a less formal procedure which involves professional decision makers and is designed to reduce costs, expedite legal proceedings and eliminate the risk of overly generous juries. Arbitration is not available in all instances of malpractice.

The wrong dosage of medication

Medication errors, also referred to as medication errors are among the main causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can result from a doctor prescribing a prescription in error or delivering the wrong dose to a patient. These errors are generally preventable. According to the circumstances the pharmacy, hospital or other health care provider could be held responsible for the harm caused by a patient who received the wrong dose of a drug.

A doctor might prescribe the wrong medication to a patient because of an incorrect diagnosis or simply because he/she misreads the prescription. A health care provider may also prescribe the wrong dose due to an inability to communicate like when the nurse reads the doctor's handwritten script in error or the pharmacist commits an error in filling out the prescription. In other instances the doctor could delay delivering the correct medication, which can cause the patient's condition to worsening.

To win a malpractice case, a victim must prove that the medical professional did not meet their standards of care and that the negligence directly caused the injuries. This requires medical experts to be present. Moreover, a medical malpractice case must prove the extent of the victim's injuries as well as the damages they suffered because of the negligence. This includes the cost of treatment as well as any lost wage. The greater the loss, the higher the value of the claim.

Unskillful Procedure

It might seem absurd that medical professionals would perform the incorrect procedure on a patient but this type of mishap occurs. If a surgeon makes this error may be held to be liable for malpractice compensation. Patients who are injured due to a surgical error may be held liable for any error that occurred during the procedure.

A medical professional accused of negligence must prove that the patient was injured as a result of an act or inability to act. To prove this, the legal team representing the patient has to prove: (1) that the doctor was 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 injury and (4) the injury causes damages that the legal system can address.

A breach of the duty of care has no significance unless it causes injury, which is why medical malpractice lawsuits are generally founded on a legal principle known as "res ipsa loquitur." This law states that, in many instances, certain injuries are so obvious and recognizable that they cannot be explained except by negligent actions.

Depending on the facts of the case, the plaintiff (the patient or Malpractice Litigation their legally appointed representative) or their lawyer may make the claim in a state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed with state courts, but in certain circumstances a medical negligence case may be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

A wrong-site procedure is a rare error, but it may be considered medical negligence if the procedure is performed on the wrong area of the body. This kind of error is often caused by miscommunications between the surgical team, or production pressures that lead to a surgeon having multiple surgeries assigned at once. In these instances the surgeon is not solely responsible for a wrong-site operation due to a legal principle known as "res ipsa locquitur", which states that the result is a matter of fact and cannot be blamed on negligence.

If a patient is injured by wrong-site surgery and is injured, they may require additional treatments to correct problems caused by the mistake. Patients and their families are left with costly medical bills. It is crucial to consider these costs when calculating the financial burden of medical malpractice compensation lawsuits.

Most often surgeons are liable for surgical mistakes. They are responsible for preparing the patient for the procedure, checking the medical record and chart of the patient, communicating with the medical staff, and making sure that the incision was made in the proper location. In some cases an anesthesiologist or hospital may also be held responsible. Medical malpractice claims are typically filed in state court but they may be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.