Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

The process of bringing a malpractice lawsuit is a complex procedure. If an error constitutes malpractice depends on whether the patient is able to prove four legal elements which include professional duty; breach of this duty; harm resulted from the breach and tangible damages.

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

Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose

Failure to identify an injury or illness correctly can result in serious complications, or even death. It is a typical cause of medical negligence. To prove negligence the patient or their lawyer must demonstrate that a competent doctor in similar circumstances and in the same area would not have misdiagnosed the condition.

It is not always a case of an error, but. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors can make errors. Therefore, any claim for malpractice must be supported with other elements such as breach, proximate cause and actual injury. For instance when a doctor does not properly sterilize their equipment before administering anesthesia, and the patient develops an infection because of it the doctor may be guilty of malpractice.

Legal actions claiming malpractice are usually filed in state trial courts where the alleged malpractice took place. Federal courts may however have jurisdiction in certain instances. For instance, a lawsuit may be brought in federal court in the event of a dispute over the time limit for filing a claim or if there is a substantial diversity of citizenship of the parties to the case. Additionally, some cases are resolved through binding arbitration that is voluntary. This is a less formal procedure with professional decision makers. It is intended to cut costs, expedite legal proceedings and eliminate the risk of overly generous juries. Arbitration is not accessible in all cases of malpractice.

The wrong dosage of medication

Medication errors--also called medication mistakes--are one of the main causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. These errors could be caused by a physician who writes a prescription in the wrong format, or giving the patient the incorrect dosage. These errors are typically preventable. Based on the circumstances, a pharmacy, a hospital or other health care provider could be held accountable for injuries caused by patients who were given the wrong dose of a medication.

A doctor might prescribe the incorrect medication to a patient because of an incorrect diagnosis or simply because they misread the prescription. A health professional could also prescribe the wrong dosage because of a breakdown in communication for example, when the nurse reads the handwritten prescription of a doctor incorrectly or the pharmacist makes an error in filling out the prescription. In other cases the doctor might delay giving the correct medication, which could cause the patient's illness to getting worse.

To prevail in a malpractice law firms lawsuit - just click the next web site,, a victim must establish that the medical professional acted in breach of their duty of care and that the negligence directly contributed to the injuries. This requires medical experts to be able to testify. In addition, a medical mishap case must demonstrate the extent of a victim's injuries and the damages they suffered as a result of the negligence. This includes the cost of treatment and any wage loss. The greater person's losses are then, the more valuable the claim will be.

Incorrect Procedure

It might seem absurd for medical professionals to perform the incorrect procedure on a patient however, this type of event is quite common. The surgeon who commits this error may be held responsible for negligence. A patient who is injured because of a surgical error may be held responsible for any mistakes that were made during the procedure.

A health care professional accused of malpractice has to prove that the patient was injured because of an act or failure to take action. To prove this the legal team of the patient must prove: (1) that the doctor was required to provide care or treat the patient; (2) that he breached that duty; (3) that a causal connection exists between the negligence and injury; and (4) the injury causes damages that the legal system can address.

A breach of the duty of care is not relevant unless it causes injury, which is why medical malpractice lawsuits are generally based on a legal doctrine called "res ipsa loquitur." This law says that, in the majority of cases certain injuries are so obvious and unmistakable that they are only explained by negligent actions.

Based on the facts depending on the facts, 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. Most malpractice cases are filed in state court, however under limited circumstances, a medical malpractice lawsuit could be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

The wrong-site surgery isn't common, but can be considered medical malpractice if the procedure is performed in the wrong part of your body. This type of error is usually caused by miscommunications between the surgical team, or by production pressures that result in the surgeon performing multiple surgeries at once. In these instances, the surgeon is not the only one with responsibility for a surgical error that is not performed correctly because there is a legal rule known as "res ipsa loquitur" which means that the result of the error speaks for itself and cannot be traced to negligence.

If someone is injured during a wrong-site procedure, he or her may require additional procedures to fix problems that were made worse by the error. This can result in high medical expenses for patients as well as their families. These expenses should be considered when calculating the financial consequences of medical malpractice claims.

The majority of times surgeons are held accountable for surgical errors. They are responsible in preparing the patient for surgery, reviewing the medical records and chart of the patient, communicating with the rest of the medical team, and ensuring that the incision was made at the correct location. In some cases the hospital or anesthesiologist can also be held liable. Medical malpractice claims are generally filed in state courts, however, in certain situations they may be transferred to federal court.