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Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

The process of bringing a malpractice lawsuit is a complex procedure. If the error constitutes malpractice depends on whether the patient is able to prove four legal elements which include professional duty and breach of this duty; injury resulting from the breach; and damages that can be quantifiable.

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

Misdiagnosis and Failure to Diagnose

The inability of a doctor to accurately diagnose a disease or injury can lead to serious complications or even death. The misdiagnosis of a patient is a frequent cause of medical negligence. To prove negligence, the patient or their attorney must prove that a competent physician under similar circumstances and in the same specialty would not have misdiagnosed the condition.

Every misdiagnosis can be considered to be negligence, but. Even highly experienced and trained doctors are not immune to mistakes. Therefore, any claim for malpractice must be backed by other factors like breach, proximate cause or actual injury. For instance the case where a physician does not take the time to clean their equipment prior the time they administer anesthesia and the patient develops an infection as a result the doctor could be found to be negligent.

In most instances, lawsuits claiming malpractice will be filed in the state trial court where the alleged error occurred. Federal courts can however have jurisdiction in certain instances. For example, a claim may be brought in federal court in the event of the interpretation of a statute of limitations or in the event of a significant variety of citizenship among those involved in the dispute. Certain claims are settled through arbitral arbitration, which is a binding process. This is a less formal process with professional decision makers. It is intended to cut costs, expedite legal proceedings and eliminate the possibility of excessively generous juries. Arbitration is not always available in cases of misconduct.

The wrong dosage of medication

Medication errors–also called medication mistakes–are one of the most common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. These errors are caused by a physician submitting prescriptions in a wrong format or giving the patient the incorrect dosage. These errors are usually avoidable. According to the situation an individual pharmacy, hospital or other health care provider could be held responsible for the injuries caused by a patient who was given the wrong dose of a drug.

A doctor might prescribe the wrong medication to a patient as a result of an incorrect diagnosis or simply by misreading the prescription. A health professional could also administer the wrong dose due to an issue with communication like when nurses read the handwritten prescription of a doctor incorrectly or the pharmacist makes a mistake in filling the prescription. In other instances, the physician may delay delivering the correct medication, which could cause the patient’s condition to getting worse.

To be successful in a malpractice lawsuit, a victim must show that the medical professional breached their standard of care, and that their negligence directly led to their injuries. This requires testimony from a medical expert. In addition, a medical mishap claim must establish the extent of a victim’s injuries and the damage they sustained as a result of the negligence. This includes the cost of treatment as well as any lost wages. The more loss you suffer, the higher the value of the claim.

Unskillful Procedure

It’s not likely that medical professionals could perform the incorrect procedure on a patient but this type of mishap is quite common. The surgeon who makes this error could be held liable for malpractice. However those who are injured due to a surgical error Malpractice Lawsuit may also be held liable for any negligence that occurred on the path to the procedure.

Any health professional who is accused of malpractice law firms must show that the patient was hurt through a specific act or failure to act. To establish this the legal team representing the patient must show that: (1) the doctor was bound by an obligation to provide care or treatment; (2) that the doctor breached this duty; (3) that there is a direct causal connection between the breach and the injury; and (4) that the injury results in damages that the legal system can resolve.

A breach of the duty of care is meaningless unless it causes injury, which is why medical malpractice claims are usually founded on a legal principle called “res ipsa loquitur.” This law says that, in a lot of instances certain injuries are so evident and obvious that they can only be explained by negligence.

Depending on the circumstances of the case, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally designated representative) or their lawyer may make the claim in a state or federal court. Most malpractice cases are filed in state courts, however under limited circumstances, a medical malpractice lawsuit can be brought in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

Surgery performed on the wrong site is a very rare error, but it can be considered medical negligence if the procedure is performed on the wrong side of the body. This type of error is typically due to miscommunication between members of a surgical team, or production pressure that leads to the surgeon being tasked with multiple surgeries at one time. In these cases, a surgeon is not solely accountable for a mistaken-site operation because of a legal principle known as “res ipsa locquitur” which states that the result speaks for itself and cannot be blamed on negligence.

If a patient gets injured by wrong-site surgery and is injured, they may require additional treatments to correct problems that are aggravated by the surgical mistake. This can result in high medical expenses for patients as well as their families. These costs should be considered when calculating the financial impact of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Most often surgeons are liable for surgical errors. They are accountable in preparing the patient prior to surgery, reviewing the chart and medical records of the patient, communicating with the rest of the medical staff, and ensuring that the incision was made in the proper location. In some instances, a hospital or anesthesiologist could also be held accountable. Medical malpractice law firm claims are typically filed in state court but they may be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.