Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

Malpractice litigation is a complicated process. If an error is considered to be pana malpractice attorney is dependent on whether the patient can establish four legal elements such as a professional duty and breach of this duty; injury resulted from the breach and tangible damages.

Plaintiffs must also prove these elements with evidence such as expert testimony, depositions, or discovery.

Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose

Inability to recognize an injury or illness correctly can cause serious complications, or death. A lot of medical malpractice cases involve misdiagnosis. To prove negligence the patient or their lawyer must demonstrate that a competent doctor in similar circumstances and working in the same field would not have misdiagnosed the condition.

A misdiagnosis is not always rancho mirage Malpractice law firm. Even highly-trained and experienced doctors are not immune to mistakes. Therefore, a claim for malpractice must be backed by other factors like breach, proximate causes and actual injury. If a doctor fails to sterilize his equipment before administering anesthesia, and the patient becomes infected because of this, the doctor could be found to be negligent.

Lawsuits alleging malpractice are typically filed in state trial courts where the alleged error occurred. Federal courts may however have jurisdiction in certain instances. For instance, a lawsuit could be filed in federal court in the event of an issue regarding a statute of limitations or when there is a substantial difference in citizenship among those involved in the dispute. Certain claims are settled through arbitration that is binding and voluntary. This is a less formal procedure which involves professional decision makers and is intended to cut costs, speed up legal proceedings, and eliminate the possibility of excessively generous juries. However, arbitration is not accessible for all claims of malpractice.

The wrong dosage of medication

Medication errors are one of the most frequent causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. These errors are caused by a doctor writing prescriptions in the wrong format or giving the patient the incorrect dosage. These errors are typically preventable. Based on the circumstances the hospital, its staff, a pharmacist or other health care provider may be held liable for the injuries suffered by the patient who received the wrong dosage of medication.

A doctor may prescribe the wrong medication to a patient as a result of an incorrect diagnosis or simply by misreading the prescription. A health care provider may also prescribe the wrong dose due to an issue with communication for instance, when a nurse reads a doctor's handwritten script incorrectly or the pharmacist makes a mistake in filling out the prescription. In other cases the doctor may delay giving the correct medication, which could lead to the patient's condition getting worse.

A person who suffers from a medical malpractice claim must prove, in order to win a malpractice lawsuit that the medical professional breached their standards of practice and that their injuries were directly attributed to the negligence. This requires the testimony of a medical expert. In addition, a medical mishap case must prove the extent of the victim's injuries and the damages they suffered as a result of the negligence. This includes the cost of treatment and any wage loss. Generally, the greater a loss is in the greater value of the claim will be.

Incorrect Procedure

It may seem impossible for medical professionals to perform the incorrect procedure on a patient, but this type of mishap can occur. A surgeon who makes this mistake can be held accountable for negligence. Patients who are injured because of an error during surgery may be held responsible for any errors that occured during the procedure.

Any health care professional who is alleged to be negligent must show that the patient was hurt by a specific action or failure to act. To prove this the legal team representing the patient must prove: (1) that the doctor was obligated to treat or provide care to the patient; (2) that he violated his duty; (3) that a causal link exists between the negligence and injury and (4) the injury causes damages that which the legal system may address.

A breach of the duty of care is meaningless 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 a majority of cases, certain injuries are so obvious and recognizable that they can only be explained through negligent acts.

Based on the facts of the case, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally appointed representative) or their lawyer may bring the case in federal or state court. The majority of malpractice 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 procedure that is performed on the wrong site is not common but it could be considered medical malpractice when the procedure is performed in the wrong location of your body. This type of mistake is often caused by miscommunications between the surgical team, or production pressures that lead to a surgeon having multiple surgeries at once. In these cases the surgeon is not solely responsible for a wrong-site operation due to the legal principle known as "res ipsa locquitur", which states that the result is a matter of fact and cannot be attributed to negligence.

If a patient is injured during a wrong-site procedure, he or her may need additional procedures to correct problems that were made worse due to the error. Patients and their families are left with high medical bills. It is essential to take these costs into consideration when calculating the financial costs of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Surgeons are typically held liable for surgical errors because they are the ones who are responsible for making preparations for the operation by double-checking patient's chart and medical records, coordinating effectively with the other members of the medical team, and making sure that the incision has been done at the correct place. However, in some instances an anesthesiologist or a hospital could also be accountable. Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually filed in state courts, however, under certain circumstances, they can be transferred to federal courts.