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Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

Malpractice litigation involves a complex process. If a patient can demonstrate 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; an injury that results from the breach; and measurable damages.

Plaintiffs must demonstrate these elements with evidence such as expert testimony, depositions and discovery.

The wrong diagnosis or the inability to diagnose

The inability of a doctor to accurately diagnose an illness or injury could lead to serious complications or even death. Many medical malpractice cases result from incorrect diagnosis. To establish negligence, a patient or their lawyer must prove that a skilled doctor in similar circumstances would not have misdiagnosed a condition.

Every misdiagnosis can be considered to be negligence, but. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors can make errors. Therefore, a claim for malpractice must be backed by other elements like breach, proximate cause or actual injury. If a doctor does not sterilize his equipment prior to giving anesthesia and the patient becomes infected as a result of this, he could be found to be negligent.

In most instances, lawsuits claiming that there was a mistake will be filed in the state trial court in which the alleged error occurred. However, federal courts may have jurisdiction under limited circumstances. A case may be brought before a federal court in certain circumstances. For instance, it may involve disputes over a statute of limitation or in the event that the parties have different citizenships. In other cases, certain claims are resolved through binding arbitration that is voluntary. This is a less formal process involving professional decision makers that is designed to reduce costs, expedite legal proceedings and reduce the risk of overly generous juries. However, arbitration isn’t accessible for all malpractice lawyers claims.

The wrong dosage of medication

Medication errors, often referred to as medication errors, are one of the main causes of medical malpractice suits. These errors can be caused by a physician submitting prescriptions in the wrong format, or giving the patient the wrong dosage. These errors are usually preventable. In the event of an incident, a pharmacy, a hospital or other health care provider could be held accountable for injuries caused by patients who were given the wrong dosage of a medication.

A doctor may prescribe the wrong medicine because of a misdiagnosis. Or, simply making a mistake in the prescription. A health care provider may also administer the wrong dose due to an interruption in communication like when nurses read the handwritten prescription of a doctor incorrectly or the pharmacist is mistaken in filling the prescription. In other cases, a physician might delay the proper medication to the patient, resulting in their condition becoming 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 experts to provide evidence. A medical malpractice case also must prove the extent and the damages caused by the victim’s injuries. This includes the cost of treatment and any lost wage. The more the loss of the claim, the greater the value of the claim.

The wrong procedure

It might seem unlikely that medical professionals would perform the wrong procedure on a patient, however, this type of event occurs. A surgeon who makes the mistake could be held liable for malpractice. However, a patient who is injured due to a surgical error can also be held accountable for any negligence that occurred along the way to the procedure.

A health care professional who is accused of negligence must prove that a patient was injured by the specific act or inability to act. To establish this the legal team representing the patient must demonstrate that: (1) the doctor was in an obligation to provide treatment or treatment; (2) that the doctor breached the duty of care; (3) that there is a direct causal connection between the breach and the injury and (4) that the injury causes damages that the legal system is able to be able to address.

A breach of the duty of care is meaningless unless it causes injury which is why medical malpractice lawsuits are generally built on a legal concept called “res ipsa loquitur.” This law states that, in the majority of cases certain injuries are obvious and evident that they can only be explained by negligence.

Depending on the circumstances of the case, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally appointed representative) or their lawyer may bring the case in state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed with state courts, however in certain circumstances the medical negligence lawsuit can be brought to federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

Wrong-site surgery is a rare error, but it could be considered medical negligence if the procedure is performed on the wrong area of the body. This type of error is typically due to miscommunication between the members of a surgical team, or production pressure that leads to a surgeon being assigned multiple surgeries simultaneously. In these cases, the surgeon is not all-in on his responsibility for a surgery that was performed on the wrong site due to the legal principle known as “res ipsa loquitur” which means that the consequence of the error is evident and cannot be traced to negligence.

When a patient is injured during surgery that is performed on the wrong site, he or she may require additional procedures to fix problems caused by the mistake. Patients and their families are left with costly medical bills. It is essential to take these costs into consideration when calculating the financial burden of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Surgeons are usually held accountable for surgical errors because they are the ones 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. However, in some instances an anesthesiologist or hospital may be held accountable. Medical malpractice claims are generally filed in state courts. However, under certain circumstances they may be transferred to federal court.