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 due to the breach and tangible damages.

Plaintiffs must be able to prove the elements using evidence such as expert testimony and depositions.

Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose

The failure of a physician to accurately diagnose an illness or injury could lead to grave complications, or even death. Misdiagnosis is a common cause of medical malpractice. To prove negligence, the patient or their attorney must show that a competent doctor in similar circumstances and working in the same area would not have misdiagnosed the condition.

There are many misdiagnosis that could be considered malpractice, however. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors are not immune to mistakes. Therefore, any claim of malpractice has to be backed by other elements, such as breach, proximate cause and actual injury. If a doctor does not sterilize his equipment before administering anesthesia, and the patient is infected as a result of this, the doctor may be guilty.

The majority of lawsuits involving malpractice are filed in state trial courts where the alleged malpractice took place. Federal courts can however have jurisdiction in certain circumstances. A case can be brought before federal court in certain circumstances. For instance it could be a dispute about the statute of limitations or in the event that the parties have different nationalities. Certain disputes are settled through binding arbitration. This is a non-formal procedure which involves professionals who make the decisions. It is designed to reduce costs, expedite the legal process, and remove the risk that comes with generous juries. Arbitration is not available in all instances of misconduct.

The wrong dosage of medication

Medication errors, often referred to as medication mistakes, are one of the leading causes of medical malpractice lawyers lawsuits. They can be caused by a physician writing a prescription that is not correct or administering the wrong dosage to patients. These mistakes are usually preventable. In certain circumstances the hospital staff member, Malpractice lawyers a pharmacist or other health care professionals may be held liable for the injuries suffered by a patient who was given the wrong dosage of a drug.

A doctor may prescribe the wrong medication to a patient as a result of an inaccurate diagnosis or simply by misreading the prescription. A health professional could also administer the incorrect dosage due to a breakdown in communication. For instance the nurse might not read a doctor's prescription correctly or a pharmacist could fail to fill the prescription. In other situations, a physician might delay in administering the correct medication to the patient, resulting in their condition deteriorating.

A person seeking compensation must prove, in order to win a malpractice claim, that the medical professional breached their professional standards and that their injuries were directly caused by the negligence. This requires testimony from a medical expert. Medical malpractice cases also must establish the extent and severity of the victim's injuries. This includes the cost of treatment as well as any lost wage. The more loss you suffer, the higher the value of the claim.

Wrong Procedure

This kind of incident is not unusual. It might seem impossible for medical professionals to perform the incorrect procedure on patients but it's true. A surgeon who makes this mistake can be held liable for malpractice. Patients who are injured due to an error in surgery could be held accountable for any errors that occured during the procedure.

A health care professional accused of Malpractice Lawyers has to prove that a patient was injured by an act or inability to act. To establish this the legal team of the patient must show that: (1) the doctor was under a duty to provide care or treatment; (2) that the doctor breached the duty of care; (3) that there is a direct causal relationship between the breach and the injury; and (4) that the injury results in damages that the legal system is able to deal with.

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

Based on the facts, the plaintiff (the person who filed the claim or their legal representative) or their attorney may choose to file in state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed with state courts, however in certain situations the medical negligence lawsuit could be filed with a federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

Surgery performed on the wrong site is a very rare error, but it can be considered medical malpractice if the procedure is performed on the wrong part of the body. This kind of error is typically the result of miscommunication between the members of a surgical team or production pressure that results in the surgeon being tasked with multiple surgeries at once. In these cases, the surgeon is not alone in his or her responsibility for a surgery that was performed on the wrong site due to an underlying legal principle referred to 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 due to surgery performed on the wrong site it is possible that he or she will require additional procedures to correct problems exacerbated due to the surgical error. This leads to costly medical expenses for the patient and their families. It is important to take these costs into account when calculating the financial cost of medical malpractice claims.

Surgeons are often found to be responsible for surgical mistakes because they are the individuals who are responsible for properly prepping for the operation and double-checking the patient's medical chart and medical records, coordinating effectively with the other members of the medical team, and making sure that the incision is placed at the right place. In some cases hospitals or anesthesiologists could also be held accountable. Medical malpractice claims are generally filed in state court, but they may be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.