Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

Malpractice litigation can be a difficult procedure. If a patient can prove four elements, it will decide whether or not the mistake is a case of malpractice. These are professional obligation and a breach of that obligation; a repercussion from this breach; and quantifiable damages.

Plaintiffs must also prove these elements with evidence such as expert testimony, depositions, or discovery.

Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose

Failure to correctly diagnose an injury or illness correctly can result in serious complications, or even death. Incorrect diagnosis is a common reason for medical malpractice. To prove negligence, the patient or their attorney must demonstrate that a competent doctor in similar circumstances and working in the same specialty would not have missed the diagnosis.

A misdiagnosis is not always negligence. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors make mistakes. Therefore, the claim of malpractice must be backed by other elements like breach, proximate cause and actual injury. For instance when a doctor is not careful to sterilize their equipment prior to administering anesthesia and the patient develops an infection due to the infection the doctor could be found to be negligent.

Legal actions claiming malpractice are usually filed in state trial courts where the alleged malpractice occurred. However, federal courts may have jurisdiction under limited circumstances. A claim can be brought before a federal court in certain circumstances. For example it could be the issue of the statute of limitations or when the parties are of different nationalities. Certain disputes are settled through arbitration that is binding and voluntary. This is a less formal procedure with professional decision makers. It is designed to cut costs, malpractice law firms speed up legal proceedings, and malpractice law firms eliminate the possibility of excessively generous juries. Arbitration is not available in all instances of misconduct.

Dosage of a drug that is incorrect

Medication mistakes, also referred to as medication errors, are among the most common causes of medical Malpractice Law firms lawsuits. These errors are caused by a doctor writing prescriptions in the wrong format, or giving the patient the wrong dosage. These errors are usually avoidable. Based on the circumstances, a hospital, its staff, a pharmacist or other health care professionals may be held liable for the harms suffered by a patient who was given the wrong drug dosage.

A doctor may prescribe the incorrect medication to a patient as a result of an incorrect diagnosis or simply due to a misreading of the prescription. A health care professional could also prescribe the wrong dose due to an issue with communication, such as when the nurse reads a doctor's handwritten script incorrectly or the pharmacist makes an error in filling the prescription. In other instances doctors may delay administering the correct medication to the patient, resulting in their condition worsening.

A plaintiff must prove to be successful in a malpractice lawyers lawsuit, that the medical professional violated their standards of practice and that their injuries were directly caused by the negligence. This requires testimony from a medical expert. Medical malpractice cases also must prove the extent and damage of the victim's injuries. This includes the cost of treatment and any wage loss. In general, the greater a person's losses are, the more valuable the claim will be.

Unskillful Procedure

This kind of incident is not uncommon. It might seem unattainable for medical professionals to carry out the incorrect procedure on patients however, it happens. A surgeon who commits this error could be held liable for malpractice lawyers. However the patient who is injured by a surgical mistake could also be held responsible for any negligence that occurred the path to the procedure.

Any health professional who is accused of misconduct must show that the patient was injured by a specific act or failure to act. To prove this the legal team representing the patient must demonstrate: (1) that the doctor was obligated to treat or provide care to the patient; (2) that he breached that duty; (3) that a causal link exists between the breach and the injury and (4) the harm results in damages that the legal system can address.

A breach of the duty of care is not relevant unless it causes injury, which is why medical malpractice claims are usually made based on a law called "res ipsa loquitur." This law says that, in many instances certain injuries are so evident and obvious that they can only be explained through negligent acts.

Depending on the circumstances the plaintiff (the person who filed the claim or their legal representative) or their lawyer can decide to file the case in state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed with state courts, but in certain circumstances the medical negligence lawsuit could be filed with a federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

A wrong-site procedure is a rare error, but it may be considered medical negligence if the procedure is carried out on the wrong portion of the body. This type of error is typically the result of miscommunication between members of a surgical team, or production pressure that leads to the surgeon being tasked with multiple surgeries at the same time. In these situations the surgeon isn't solely responsible for a misplaced procedure because of the legal principle of "res ipsa locquitur" which says that the outcome speaks for itself and cannot be attributed to negligence.

If a patient gets injured as a result of surgery done on the wrong location the patient may require additional procedures to fix problems exacerbated due to the surgical error. This leads to costly medical expenses for patients and their families. It is important to consider these costs when calculating the financial burden of medical malpractice lawsuits.

The majority of times surgeons are liable for surgical errors. They are accountable to prepare the patient for the procedure, as well as checking the medical records and chart of the patient, coordinating with the medical personnel, and ensuring that the incision was made in the proper location. However, in some instances a hospital or anesthesiologist may also be accountable. Medical malpractice cases are typically filed in state courts, but in certain situations, they can be transferred to federal court.