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Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

Malpractice litigation involves a complex process. Whether or not an error constitutes malpractice depends on whether the patient can establish four legal elements that include a professional obligation and breach of this duty; harm due to the breach and damages that can be quantifiable.

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

Incorrect diagnosis and failure to diagnose

A physician’s inability to diagnose an illness or injury could lead to serious complications or even death. Many medical malpractice cases result from mistaken diagnosis. To prove negligence, the patient or their attorney must demonstrate that a competent doctor under similar circumstances and working in the same specialty would not have misdiagnosed the condition.

It is not always a case of an error, but. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors make mistakes, therefore a claim of malpractice must be backed by other elements such as breach, proximate causality and actual injury. If a doctor fails to sterilize his equipment prior to administering anesthesia, and the patient is infected because of this, he could be held accountable.

In the majority of instances, lawsuits claiming Herriman malpractice lawsuit will be filed in the state trial court in which the alleged error occurred. However, federal courts could have jurisdiction in certain situations. A case can be brought before a federal court in certain circumstances. For example it could involve disputes over a statute of limitation or when the parties are of different citizenships. In other cases, certain claims are resolved through binding arbitration that is voluntary. This is a less formal procedure that involves professionals who make the decisions. It is designed to cut costs, speed up legal proceedings and remove the possibility of excessively generous juries. However, arbitration isn’t available for all claims of malpractice.

Dosage for a drug that is not correct

Medication errors, also known as medication mistakes, are one of the most frequent causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can be caused by a physician writing a prescription that is not correct or delivering the wrong dose to the patient. These mistakes are often avoidable. Depending on the circumstances, a hospital or its staff, pharmacist or other health care provider could be held accountable for the injuries sustained by a patient who was given the wrong dosage of a drug.

A doctor may prescribe the wrong medication to a patient because of an inaccurate diagnosis or simply because they misread the prescription. A health care professional could also prescribe the wrong dosage because of an interruption in communication for example, when nurses read the doctor’s handwritten prescription incorrectly or the pharmacist makes an error in filling out the prescription. In other cases the doctor may delay administering the correct medication to the patient, resulting in the patient’s condition getting worse.

A plaintiff must prove for the sake of winning a malpractice lawsuit, that the medical professional violated their professional standards and that their injuries were directly attributed to the negligence. This requires medical expert testimony. A medical malpractice case also must establish the extent and damages of the victim’s injuries. This includes the cost of treatment and any wage loss. The more money you lose of the claim, the greater the value of the claim.

The wrong procedure

This kind of incident is not unusual. It might seem impossible for medical professionals to perform the incorrect procedure on patients, however, it is a reality. The surgeon who commits this kind of error could be held to be liable for malpractice. However, a patient who is injured as a result of a surgical error may also be held liable for any negligence that occurred along the process.

Any health professional who is accused of misconduct must prove that the patient was harmed through a specific act or failure to act. To prove this the legal counsel of the patient must demonstrate that: (1) the doctor was under a duty to provide care or treatment; (2) that the doctor did not fulfill this duty; (3) that there is a direct causal connection between the breach and the injury and (4) that the injury causes damages which the legal system has the power to be able to address.

A breach of the duty of care has no significance unless it causes injury, which is the reason medical malpractice claims are typically based on a legal doctrine called “res ipsa loquitur.” This law states that, in a majority of cases, certain injuries are so evident and obvious that they are only explained by negligent acts.

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

Wrong Surgery

The wrong-site surgery isn’t common however, it could be a case of medical northport malpractice lawsuit when the procedure is performed in the wrong part of your body. This type of error is usually caused by a lack of communication between members of the surgical team or pressures on production that result in surgeons having several surgeries to perform at the same time. In these situations, the surgeon is not the only one with liability for a wrong-site surgery due to the legal principle known as “res ipsa loquitur” which means that the effect of the error speaks for itself and can be attributed to negligence.

When a patient is injured as a result of surgery done on the wrong location it is possible that he or she will require additional procedures to fix problems that are aggravated by the surgical error. This leads to costly medical bills for patients and their families. It is crucial to take these costs into consideration when calculating the financial burden of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Surgeons are typically found to be responsible for surgical mistakes because they are the individuals who are responsible for getting ready for the procedure and double-checking the patient’s medical chart and medical records, coordinating effectively with other members of the medical team, and making sure that the incision has been made on the correct site. In some instances hospitals or anesthesiologists can also be held liable. Medical malpractice claims are typically filed in state courts, however, they can be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.