Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

The legal process for defending malpractice is a complex procedure. If a person can prove four factors, it will determine whether or not the error is a case of malpractice. These are: a professional obligation or breach of that duty; a loss resulting from the breach; and quantifiable damage.

Plaintiffs must be able to prove the elements using evidence, such as expert testimony and depositions.

Incorrect diagnosis and failure to diagnose

Failure to diagnose an injury or illness accurately can result in serious complications, or death. The misdiagnosis of a patient is a frequent cause of medical negligence. To prove negligence the patient or their attorney must demonstrate that a competent doctor in similar circumstances and in the same field would not have misdiagnosed the problem.

There are many misdiagnosis that could be considered malpractice, however. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors are not immune to mistakes. Therefore, any claim of malpractice must be backed by other elements, such as breach, proximate reason and actual injury. For instance when a doctor fails to properly sterilize their equipment prior to administering anesthesia and the patient suffers an infection in the process, the doctor could be found to be negligent.

Lawsuits alleging malpractice are typically filed in state trial courts where the alleged malpractice occurred. However, federal courts may be able to handle cases in certain circumstances. For example, a claim could be filed in federal court if it is an issue regarding the time limit for filing a claim or when there is a significant variety of citizenship among those involved in the dispute. Certain claims are settled through arbitral arbitration, which is a binding process. This is a less formal procedure which involves professionals who make the decisions. It is designed to lower expenses, speed up the legal proceedings, and eliminate the risk of overly generous juries. Arbitration is not available in all cases of misconduct.

Wrong Drug Dosage

Medication errors, also known as medication mistakes, are among the most common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can result from a doctor writing a prescription incorrectly or giving the wrong dosage to patients. These errors are typically preventable. Based on the circumstances the pharmacy, 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 could prescribe the wrong medication to a patient as a result of an incorrect diagnosis or simply because he/she misreads the prescription. A health professional could also give the wrong dosage due to a lapse in communication. For instance, a nurse may not read a doctor's prescription correctly or a pharmacist might have a mistake while filling the prescription. In other instances doctors may delay in administering the correct medication to the patient, which could result in their condition worsening.

To win a tequesta malpractice lawyer case, a victim must prove that the medical professional breached their standards of care and that their negligence directly led to their injurnce lawsuit can be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

Surgery performed on the wrong site is a very rare error, but it may be considered medical negligence if the procedure is performed on the wrong area of the body. This kind of error is often due to miscommunication between the members of a surgical team, or production pressure that results in a surgeon being assigned multiple surgeries at one time. In these cases the surgeon is not solely accountable for a mistaken-site procedure due to the legal principle of "res ipsa locquitur" which says that the result is a matter of fact and cannot be blamed on negligence.

If a patient is injured during an operation that was performed on the wrong site the patient may need additional procedures to correct problems that were made worse by the mistake. Patients and their families are left with costly medical bills. These costs should be considered when calculating the financial impact of medical inverness malpractice lawsuit claims.

Most often surgeons are held accountable for surgical errors. They are accountable in preparing the patient for the procedure, as well as checking the chart and medical records of the patient, coordinating with the medical team, and ensuring that the incision was made at the correct location. However, in certain instances an anesthesiologist or a hospital could also be liable. Medical malpractice claims are typically filed in state courts, however, they can be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.