Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

Malpractice litigation involves a complex process. If a person can prove four elements, it will be able to determine whether or not the mistake is malpractice. These are professional obligation and a breach of that obligation; a repercussion from the breach; and malpractice measurable damage.

Plaintiffs must prove these elements through 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 could result in grave complications, or even death. Incorrect diagnosis is a common reason for medical malpractice. To prove negligence, the patient or their attorney must show that a competent doctor under similar circumstances and working in the same specialty would not have misdiagnosed the problem.

There are many misdiagnosis that could be considered malpractice, however. Even the most skilled and trained doctors make mistakes. Therefore, a claim of malpractice must be supported by other elements like breach, proximate causation, and actual injury. For example, if a physician does not properly sterilize their equipment prior to giving anesthesia and the patient develops an infection due to the infection the doctor could be found to be negligent.

Lawsuits that claim malpractice are usually filed in state trial courts, where the alleged error occurred. Federal courts could however have jurisdiction in certain instances. A claim can be brought before federal court in certain circumstances. For instance, it may involve the issue of a statute of limitation or when the parties are of different citizenships. Certain disputes are settled via binding voluntary arbitration. This is a less formal procedure that involves professionals who make the decisions. It is designed to cut costs, expedite legal proceedings and remove the risk of overly generous juries. Arbitration is not available in all cases of misconduct.

Dosage for a drug that is not correct

Medication mistakes, also referred to as medication errors, are one of the main causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can be caused by a physician prescribing the wrong medication or delivering the wrong dose to the patient. These errors are usually avoidable. In the event of an incident, a pharmacy, a hospital or other health care providers could be held responsible for the injuries resulting from a patient who was given the wrong dosage of a medication.

A doctor could prescribe the wrong medication as a result of a misdiagnosis. Or, simply misreading the prescription. A health professional could also prescribe the wrong dose due to an inability to communicate for instance, when nurses read a doctor's handwritten script incorrectly or the pharmacist commits an error in filling the prescription. In other cases, a physician might delay the administration of the correct medication to the patient, resulting in the patient's condition getting worse.

A person seeking compensation must prove, in order to prevail on a malpractice lawsuit, that the medical professional breached their professional standards and that their injuries were directly caused by the negligence. This requires medical experts to be able to testify. A medical malpractice case must prove the extent and damage of the victim's injuries. This includes the cost of treatment and any wage loss. The more the loss is, the more valuable of the claim.

Wrong Procedure

It may seem impossible that medical professionals would perform the wrong procedure on a patient, but this type of incident can occur. A surgeon who makes this mistake could be held accountable for malpractice. However patients who are injured due to a surgical error could also be held responsible for any negligence that occurred along the process.

A health professional accused of malpractice must demonstrate that the patient was injured because of an action or inability to act. To prove this the legal counsel of the patient must show that: (1) the doctor was bound by an obligation to provide care or treatment; (2) that the doctor violated that duty; (3) that there is a direct and causal connection between the breach and the injury; and (4) that the injury results in damages that the legal system could be able to address.

A breach of the duty of care is not relevant unless it causes injury this is why medical malpractice lawyer claims are usually made based on a law called "res ipsa loquitur." This law states that, in a majority of cases certain injuries are obvious and unmistakable that they can only be explained through negligent acts.

Depending on the facts of the situation, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally designated representative) or their attorney could bring the case in federal or state court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state court. However, in certain circumstances, a medical malpractice lawsuit could be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

The wrong-site surgery is rare however, it could be a case of medical malpractice when the procedure is performed in the wrong place on your body. This type of error usually occurs as due to miscommunication between the members of a surgical team, or production pressure that leads to the surgeon being tasked with multiple surgeries at once. In these cases the surgeon is not solely accountable for a mistaken-site procedure because of the legal principle known as "res ipsa locquitur" which says that the result speaks for itself and cannot be attributed to negligence.

If a patient gets injured due to surgery performed on the wrong site the patient may require additional procedures to fix problems caused by the mistake. Patients and their families are left with high medical bills. This expense should be taken into consideration when calculating the financial impact of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Most often surgeons are held accountable for surgical errors. They are accountable for preparing the patient for the procedure, examining the medical record and chart of the patient, coordinating with the rest of the medical staff, and ensuring that the incision was made at the right place. In some instances an anesthesiologist or hospital can also be held liable. Medical malpractice cases are typically filed in state courts, however, in certain situations they may be transferred to federal court.