Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

The process of bringing a malpractice law firms lawsuit is a complex procedure. If a person 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 the breach; and quantifiable damages.

Plaintiffs must also prove the facts using evidence such as expert testimony and depositions.

Undiagnosed or Incorrectly Diagnosed

Failure to correctly diagnose an illness or injury accurately can result in serious complications, or death. Many medical malpractice cases result from incorrect diagnosis. To prove negligence, a patient or their lawyer needs to prove that a skilled doctor in similar circumstances would not have misdiagnosed an illness.

Misdiagnosis does not always constitute malpractice. Even experienced and highly trained doctors can make errors. Therefore, a claim of malpractice must be backed by other factors such as breach, proximate causes and actual injury. If a doctor does not sterilize his equipment prior to administering anesthesia and the patient is infected because of this, the doctor may be held accountable.

Legal actions claiming malpractice are usually filed in state trial courts where the alleged malpractice occurred. However, federal courts may be able to handle cases in certain circumstances. For instance, a claim may be brought in federal court in the event of an issue regarding the time limit or when there is a substantial variety of citizenship among the parties in the case. Some claims are settled by binding voluntary arbitration. This is a less formal process that involves professional decision makers. It is designed to lower costs, expedite the legal proceedings, and eliminate the risk associated with overly generous juries. Arbitration is not accessible in all cases of malpractice.

Dosage for a drug that is not correct

Medication errors, also known as medication mistakes, are one of the most common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can involve a physician writing a prescription that is not correct or administering the wrong dosage to patients. These errors are often preventable. Based on the circumstances an individual pharmacy, hospital or other health care providers could be held responsible for the harm caused by a patient who was given the wrong dose of a medication.

A doctor could 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 failure in communication. For instance nurses might take a doctor's prescription and read it incorrectly or a pharmacist could fail to fill the prescription. In other cases the doctor may delay the administration of the correct medication to the patient, which could result in their condition deteriorating.

A plaintiff must prove for the sake of winning a malpractice claim, that the medical professional breached their professional standards and that their injuries were directly attributed to the negligence. This requires medical experts to provide evidence. Additionally, a medical malpractice case must prove the extent of a victim's injuries and the damage they sustained as a result of the negligence. This includes the costs of treatment for the victim as well as any wages lost. The greater the loss the greater the value of the claim.

Incorrect Procedure

This type of incident is not uncommon. It might seem impossible for medical professionals to carry out the wrong procedure on patients, but it's true. A surgeon who commits this mistake could be held responsible for negligence. However, a patient who is injured by a surgical mistake may also be held liable for any negligence that occurred along the way to the procedure.

Any health care professional who is alleged to be negligent must show that the patient was injured by a specific act or failure to act. To prove this, the legal team of the patient has to prove: (1) that the doctor had a responsibility to care for or treat the patient; (2) that he failed to fulfill his obligation; (3) that a causal connection exists between the negligence and injury; and (4) the injuries result in damages that the legal system can deal with.

A breach of duty of care is no value unless it results in injury. This is the reason why medical malpractice lawyer cases are often founded on the legal doctrine "res ipsa locquitur," which states that certain injuries are so obvious that they can only be explained by negligence.

Based on the facts of the situation, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally appointed representative) or their attorney may present the claim to state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state court, but in certain situations medical malpractice lawsuits could be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

The wrong-site procedure is rare but it can be considered medical malpractice in the event that the procedure is carried out in the wrong place on your body. This kind of error is usually the result of miscommunications between members of the surgical team, or by production pressures that result in surgeons being assigned multiple surgeries scheduled at the same time. In these situations the surgeon isn't solely accountable for a mistaken-site operation due to a legal principle known as "res ipsa locquitur" which states that the outcome is a matter of fact and cannot be blamed on negligence.

If an individual is injured in a wrong-site procedure the patient may need additional procedures to correct problems that were made worse by the mistake. This could result in expensive medical bills for patients and their families. This expense should be considered when calculating the financial consequences of medical malpractice claims.

The majority of times, surgeons are held responsible for surgical mistakes. They are accountable to prepare the patient for the procedure, examining the medical records and chart of the patient, coordinating with the rest of the medical team, and ensuring that the incision was made in the proper location. In certain instances an anesthesiologist or hospital may also be held responsible. Medical malpractice claims are generally filed in state courts, but in certain situations, they can be transferred to federal court.