Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

Malpractice litigation is a complicated procedure. If a patient can demonstrate four factors, it will determine 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 also prove the elements using evidence, such as expert testimony and depositions.

Undiagnosed or Incorrectly Diagnosed

Failure to diagnose an injury or illness correctly could lead to serious complications, or even death. Incorrect diagnosis is a common reason for medical negligence. To show negligence, the patient or their lawyer needs to prove that an experienced doctor in similar circumstances would not have misdiagnosed the condition.

Every misdiagnosis can be considered to be an error, but. Even highly-trained and experienced doctors can make errors. Therefore, a claim for malpractice must be backed by other elements such as breach, proximate reason and actual injury. For instance when a doctor is not careful to sterilize their equipment prior to giving anesthesia, and the patient develops an infection because of it, the doctor could be found to be negligent.

The majority of lawsuits involving malpractice are filed in state trial courts, where the alleged malpractice took place. However, federal courts may have jurisdiction in certain situations. A claim may be filed before a federal court in specific circumstances. For example it could involve a dispute about the statute of limitations or in the event that the parties have different citizenships. Certain claims are settled through arbitral arbitration, which is a binding process. This is a less formal process that is governed by professional decision makers. It is designed to cut costs, expedite the legal proceedings, and eliminate the risks associated with large juries. However, arbitration isn't accessible for all malpractice claims.

Wrong Drug Dosage

Medication errors, often referred to as medication errors are among the main reasons for medical malpractice lawsuits. These errors can be caused by a physician submitting a prescription in the wrong format, or giving the patient the incorrect dosage. These errors are usually preventable. According to the circumstances an individual pharmacy, hospital or lawyers other health care providers could be held responsible for the injuries resulting from patients who were given the wrong dose of a drug.

A doctor may prescribe the wrong medication as a result of a misdiagnosis or by simply making a mistake in the prescription. A health professional may also prescribe the wrong dosage because of an inability to communicate like when the nurse reads the doctor's handwritten script in error or lawyers the pharmacist is mistaken in filling out the prescription. In other instances, the physician may delay the administration of the correct medication, which could cause the patient's illness to getting worse.

A person seeking compensation must prove, in order to win a marshall malpractice lawsuit lawsuit that the medical professional breached their standards of practice and that their injuries were directly attributed to the negligence. This requires testimony from a medical expert. Furthermore, a medical negligence case must demonstrate the extent of the injuries suffered by a victim and lawyers the damage they sustained as a result of the negligence. This includes the cost of treatment and any lost wage. Generally, the greater a person's losses are, the more valuable the claim will be.

Incorrect Procedure

It's not likely that medical professionals would carry out the incorrect procedure on a patient, but this type of mishap occurs. If a surgeon makes this error can be found to be liable for negligence. However those who are injured due to a surgical error could also be held accountable for any negligence that occurred the path to the procedure.

Any health professional who is accused of malpractice must prove that the patient was injured through a specific act or omission to act. To establish this the legal counsel of the patient must show that: (1) the doctor was in a duty to provide care or treatment; (2) that the doctor violated that duty; (3) that there is a direct causal link between the breach and the injury and (4) that the injury results in 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 lawsuits are generally made based on a law known as "res ipsa loquitur." This law says that, in many instances certain injuries are obvious and unmistakable that they cannot be explained except by negligence.

Depending on the circumstances the plaintiff (the person who filed the claim, or their legal representative) or their lawyer could decide to file the claim in either state or federal court. The majority of vandergrift malpractice law firm cases are filed in state court, however in certain situations medical malpractice lawsuits can be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

The wrong-site surgery isn't common however, it could be a case of medical malpractice when the procedure is done in the wrong part of your body. This type of error is usually caused by miscommunication between the members of a surgical team, or production pressure that leads to the surgeon being assigned multiple surgeries simultaneously. In these situations the surgeon isn't solely responsible for a wrong-site procedure because of the legal principle known as "res ipsa locquitur" which states that the outcome is a matter of fact and cannot be attributed to negligence.

If a patient is injured by wrong-site surgery the patient may require additional procedures to repair problems exacerbated by the surgical error. This results in costly medical expenses for patients and their families. These expenses must be taken into consideration when calculating the financial impact of medical malpractice claims.

Surgeons are most often found to be responsible for surgical mistakes as they are the ones who are responsible for prepping for the operation as well as double-checking the patient's charts and medical records, coordinating effectively with other members of the medical team and making sure that the incision has been done at the correct place. In some instances, a hospital or anesthesiologist may also be held responsible. Medical malpractice cases are typically filed in state courts, however, in certain situations they may be transferred to federal court.