Joanne Caudill asked 4 months ago
Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation
Malpractice litigation can be a difficult procedure. Whether or not an error constitutes malpractice depends on the ability of the patient to establish four legal elements which include professional duty and breach of this duty; harm due to the breach and damages that can be quantifiable.
Plaintiffs must also prove the elements by using evidence, such as expert testimony and depositions.
Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose
A physician’s inability to correctly diagnose an illness or injury can result in grave complications, or even death. It is a typical cause of medical negligence. 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 problem.
A misdiagnosis is not always negligence. Even the most experienced and highly trained doctors make mistakes. Therefore, an allegation of malpractice needs to be supported by other elements like breach, proximate cause and actual injury. If a doctor does not sterilize his equipment prior to giving anesthesia and the patient is infected as a result of this, the doctor may be liable.
In most instances, lawsuits claiming that there was a mistake will be filed in the state trial court where the alleged misconduct occurred. However, federal courts might have jurisdiction under limited circumstances. For instance, a claim could be filed in federal court if it is an issue regarding the time limit for filing a claim or if there is a substantial variation in the citizenship of the parties involved in the case. Certain claims are settled through arbitral arbitration, which is a binding process. This is a less formal process that involves professional decision makers. It is designed to reduce costs, expedite the legal proceedings, and Malpractice Lawsuits eliminate the risk of overly generous juries. Arbitration is not always available in cases 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 involve a physician prescribing the wrong medication or giving the wrong dosage to the patient. These mistakes are usually avoidable. Depending on the circumstances, a hospital or its staff, pharmacist or other health care providers could be held responsible for the injuries of a patient who was prescribed the wrong dosage of medication.
A doctor could prescribe the wrong medicine because of a misdiagnosis, or simply making a mistake in the prescription. A health professional may also administer the wrong dosage because of an interruption in communication, such as when a nurse reads a doctor’s handwritten script incorrectly or the pharmacist makes an error in filling out the prescription. In other cases the doctor could delay giving the correct medication, which can cause the patient’s illness to getting worse.
A plaintiff must prove in order to win a malpractice claim, that the medical professional breached their standard of practice and that their injuries were directly attributed to the negligence. This requires medical experts to be present. A medical malpractice case must prove the severity and damage of the victim’s injuries. This includes the costs of a person’s treatment and any lost wages. Generally, the greater a person’s losses are and the greater the value of the claim will be.
Wrong Procedure
This type of incident is not unusual. It might seem impossible for medical professionals to perform the incorrect procedure on patients, but it does happen. A surgeon who makes this kind of error could be held to be liable for negligence. However those who are injured as a result of a surgical error may also be held liable for any negligence that occurred during the way to the procedure.
A health care professional who is accused of malpractice has to prove that the patient was injured due to an act or failure to act. To prove this, the legal team of the patient must show: (1) that the doctor was required to care for or treat the patient; (2) that he violated his duty; (3) that a causal link exists between the breach and the injury; and (4) the injury causes damages that which the legal system may address.
A breach of the duty of care is insignificant unless it causes injury, which is why medical malpractice claims are usually based on a legal doctrine known as “res ipsa loquitur.” This law says that, in many instances certain injuries are evident and obvious that they can only be explained through negligent actions.
Based on the circumstances the plaintiff (the person who filed the claim, or their legal representative) or their lawyer can decide to file the claim either in state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state court, but under limited circumstances medical malpractice lawsuits may be filed in federal district court.
Wrong Surgery
The wrong-site surgery isn’t common, but can be considered medical malpractice when the procedure is performed in the wrong part of your body. This type of mistake is usually caused by a lack of communication between the surgical team, or due to pressures in the production process that result in surgeons being assigned multiple surgeries at once. In these cases, a surgeon is not solely responsible for a wrong-site procedure because of the legal principle of “res ipsa locquitur” which states that the result is a matter of fact and cannot be blamed on negligence.
If a patient is injured due to surgery performed on the wrong site the patient may require additional treatments to correct problems that are aggravated due to the surgical error. Patients and their families are left with expensive medical bills. These costs should be taken into consideration when calculating the financial consequences of medical malpractice lawyers lawsuits.
Surgeons are most often held liable for surgical errors since they are the ones who are accountable for prepping for the operation, double-checking the patient’s chart and medical records, coordinating effectively with the other members of the medical team, and making sure that the incision has been placed at the right place. In some cases, a hospital or anesthesiologist may also be held responsible. Medical malpractice claims are typically filed in state court however, they can be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.