Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

Malpractice litigation is a tense procedure. If a patient can prove four elements, it will decide whether or not the error is a case of malpractice. These are the following: a professional obligation; a breach of that duty; a loss resulting from the breach; and quantifiable damages.

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

Incorrect diagnosis or failure to diagnose

The inability of a doctor to accurately diagnose a disease or injury can result in serious complications or even death. A lot of medical malpractice cases involve misdiagnosis. To prove negligence the patient or their attorney must demonstrate that a competent doctor in similar circumstances and in the same area would not have misdiagnosed the condition.

A misdiagnosis is not always malpractice. Even highly experienced and trained doctors can make mistakes. Therefore, any claim of malpractice has to be backed by other factors like breach, proximate cause or actual injury. For instance when a doctor does not take the time to clean their equipment prior the time they administer anesthesia and the patient develops an infection in the process the doctor could be liable for malpractice.

In the majority of instances, lawsuits claiming that there was a mistake will be filed in the state trial court in which the alleged malpractice took place. Federal courts could be able to hear cases in certain situations. A claim may be filed before federal court in certain circumstances. For example it could involve a dispute about a statute of limitation or when the parties are of different nationalities. Some claims can be resolved through binding arbitration that is voluntary. This is a less-formal process which involves professionals who make the decisions. It is designed to lower costs, speed up legal process, and remove the risks associated with generous juries. However, arbitration isn't accessible for all claims of malpractice.

Dosage for a drug that is not correct

Medication errors, often referred to as medication errors, are one of the main reasons for medical malpractice suits. They can be caused by a physician writing a prescription incorrectly or delivering the wrong dose to a patient. These mistakes are usually avoidable. Based on the circumstances, a hospital or its staff, a pharmacist or other health professionals may be held liable for the injuries suffered by a patient who was prescribed the wrong drug dosage.

A doctor could prescribe incorrect medication to a patient as a result of an inaccurate diagnosis or simply due to a misreading of the prescription. A health care provider may also administer the wrong dosage because of a breakdown in communication for example, when nurses read the doctor's handwritten prescription incorrectly or the pharmacist is mistaken in filling the prescription. In other cases the doctor may delay delivering the correct medication, which could lead to the patient's condition getting worse.

To be successful in a malpractice case, a victim must demonstrate that the medical professional acted in breach of their standard of care and that negligence directly caused their injuries. This requires medical experts to provide evuations the case of medical negligence may be filed in federal district court.

Wrong Surgery

Wrong-site surgery is a rare error, but it can be considered medical negligence if the procedure is carried out on the wrong portion of the body. This type of error is usually the result of miscommunications between members of the surgical team, or pressures in the production process that result in the surgeon performing multiple surgeries assigned at once. In these cases 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 speaks for itself and cannot be blamed on negligence.

If the patient is injured during an incorrect procedure and is injured, they may require additional procedures in order to correct problems that were exacerbated by the mistake. This can result in high medical expenses for patients as well as their families. It is important to take these costs into consideration when calculating the financial costs of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Most often surgeons are liable for surgical errors. They are responsible to prepare the patient for the procedure, checking the medical records and charts of the patient, communicating with the rest of the medical staff, and making sure that the incision was placed at the correct location. However, in some instances an anesthesiologist or a hospital could also be liable. Medical malpractice lawsuits are usually filed in state courts, however, under certain circumstances, they can be transferred to federal courts.