Common Causes of Malpractice Lawyers Litigation

Malpractice litigation is a complex procedure. If a patient can demonstrate four factors, it will determine whether or not the error is a case of malpractice. These are professional obligation; a breach of that obligation; an injury that results from the breach; and measurable damage.

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

Misdiagnosis and Failure to Diagnose

Failure to identify an injury or illness accurately can cause serious complications, or even death. The misdiagnosis of a patient is a frequent reason for medical malpractice. To prove negligence the patient or their attorney must demonstrate that a competent physician under similar circumstances and working in the same specialty would not have misdiagnosed the condition.

There are many misdiagnosis that could be considered malpractice, however. Even highly trained and experienced doctors make mistakes, therefore a claim of malpractice must be supported by other elements such as breach, proximate cause and actual injury. If a physician fails to sterilize his equipment before administering anesthesia and the patient is infected because of this, he could be found to be negligent.

Legal actions claiming malpractice are usually filed in state trial courts, where the alleged malpractice took place. Federal courts can be able to handle the case in certain circumstances. A case may be brought before a federal court in specific circumstances. For instance, it may involve the issue of the statute of limitations or in the event that the parties have different nationalities. Certain disputes are settled through binding voluntary arbitration. This is a less formal process which involves professional decision makers and is designed to cut costs, speed up legal proceedings and eliminate the risk of overly generous juries. Arbitration is not available in all cases of malpractice.

Dosage for a drug that is not correct

Medication errors are one of the most common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can involve a physician prescribing a prescription in error or administering the wrong dosage to a patient. These mistakes are usually preventable. Based on the circumstances the hospital or its staff, a pharmacist or other health care providers could be held responsible for the injuries of patients who were given the wrong dose of medication.

A doctor could prescribe the incorrect medication to a patient because of an incorrect diagnosis or simply because he/she misreads the prescription. A health care professional could also administer the wrong dosage due to an inability to communicate for example, when a nurse reads a doctor's handwritten script incorrectly or the pharmacist makes a mistake in filling out the prescription. In other situations, a physician might delay the proper medication to the patient, which could result in the patient's condition getting worse.

A plaintiff must prove to be successful in a malpractice lawsuit, that the medical professional violated their professional standards and that their injuries were directly caused by the negligence. This requires the testimony of a medical expert. Moreover, a medical malpractice law firm claim must establish the extent of the injuries suffered by a victim and the damages they suffered because of the negligence. This includes the costs of a person's treatment and any lost wages. The more money you lose of the claim, the greater the value of the claim.

Incorrect Procedure

It's not likely that medical professionals could perform the incorrect procedure on a patient, but this type of mishap can occur. The surgeon who makes this error could be held liable for negligence. Patients who are injured because of an error in surgery could be held responsible for any errors that occured during the procedure.

A health care professional accused of malpractice has to prove that a patient was injured by an action or failure to act. To prove this the legal team of the patient must demonstrate that: (1) the doctor was under 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 causes damages that the legal system is able to address.

A breach of the duty of care is meaningless unless it causes injury, that's why medical malpractice claims are usually made based on a law called "res ipsa loquitur." This law says that, in a majority of cases, certain injuries are so obvious and unmistakable that they can only be explained by negligent acts.

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

Wrong Surgery

A wrong-site procedure is a rare error, but it could be considered medical negligence if the procedure is performed on the wrong part of the body. This type of mistake is usually caused by miscommunications between the surgical team, or production pressures that result in a surgeon having multiple surgeries assigned at once. In these situations, the surgeon is not solely responsible for his or her responsibility for a surgical error that is not performed correctly due to an underlying legal principle referred to as "res ipsa loquitur" which means that the result of the error is evident and can only be attributed to negligence.

If someone is injured during an improper procedure the patient may require additional procedures to fix issues that were caused due to the error. Patients and their families are left with costly medical bills. It is essential to take these costs into account when calculating the financial burden of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Surgeons are most often held liable for surgical errors because they are the individuals who are accountable for making preparations for the operation as well as double-checking the patient's charts and medical records, coordinating effectively with other members of the medical team, and making sure the incision is located at the correct location. In certain instances hospitals or anesthesiologists may also be held responsible. Medical malpractice claims are usually filed in state courts, but in certain situations, they can be transferred to federal court.