Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation

Malpractice litigation is a complicated process. Whether or not an error constitutes south williamsport malpractice lawsuit depends on whether the patient can prove four legal elements: a professional duty and breach of this duty; injury resulting from the breach; and tangible damages.

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

Incorrect diagnosis and inability to diagnose

The inability of a doctor to accurately diagnose an illness or injury can result in serious complications or even death. Misdiagnosis is a common cause of medical negligence. To prove negligence the patient or their attorney must show that a competent doctor in similar circumstances and in the same specialty would not have missed the diagnosis.

It is not always a case of malpractice, however. Even highly skilled and experienced doctors make mistakes, therefore a claim of malpractice must be supported by other elements like breach, proximate causation, and actual injury. If a doctor does not sterilize his equipment before administering anesthesia, and the patient is infected because of this, the doctor may be liable.

In most cases, lawsuits that allege malpractice will be filed in the state trial court where the malpractice was alleged to have occurred. However, federal courts might have jurisdiction under limited circumstances. A claim can be brought before federal court in certain circumstances. For example, it may involve a dispute about a statute of limitation or when the parties have different nationalities. Certain disputes are settled through arbitration that is binding and voluntary. This is a less formal procedure which involves professional decision makers and is designed to reduce costs, speed up legal proceedings, and eliminate the risk of overly generous juries. Arbitration is not always available in cases of malpractice.

Dosage of a drug that is incorrect

Medication errors--also called medication mistakes--are among the most common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can involve a physician writing a prescription that is not correct or delivering the wrong dose to the patient. These errors are generally preventable. Based on the circumstances the situation, a pharmacist, a hospital or other health care provider could be held accountable for the injuries resulting from an individual who took the wrong dose of a medication.

A doctor could prescribe incorrect medication to a patient as a result of an incorrect diagnosis or simply because he/she misreads the prescription. A health professional could also administer the incorrect dosage because of a glitch in communication. For example the nurse might take a doctor's prescription and read it incorrectly or a pharmacist could make a mistake when filling the prescription. In other cases the doctor may delay the proper medication to the patient, resulting in the patient's condition getting worse.

To prevail in an action for malpractice, a victim must show that the medical professional violated their standard of care, and that their negligence directly led to their injuries. This requires medical experts to testify. Additionally, a medical malpractice claim must establish the extent of a victim's injuries and the damages they suffered as a result of the negligence. This includes the cost of treatment for the victim as well as any wages lost. The more money you lose of the claim, the greater the value of the claim.

Incorrect Procedure

It might seem absurd that medical professionals could perform the incorrect procedure on a patient but this type of incident can occur. The surgeon who commits this kind of error could be held to be liable for negligence. However patients who are injured due to a surgical error can also be held accountable for any negligence that occurred during the way to the procedure.

A health professional accused of negligence must prove that a patient was injured by an act or inability to perform the act. To prove this, the patient's legal team must prove that: (1) the doctor had an obligation to provide treatment or treatment; (2) that the doctor did not fulfill this duty; (3) that there is a direct and causal connection between the breach and the injury and (4) that the injury causes damages that the legal system could be able to address.

A breach of duty of care is no value unless it results in injury. This is the reason why medical malpractice cases are usually based on the legal doctrine "res ipsa locquitur" which says that certain injuries are so obvious they can be explained only by negligence.

Depending on the facts of the situation, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally designated representative) or their lawyer may present the claim to state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state court, however under limited circumstances the medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed in 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 done in the wrong location of your body. This kind of error is typically caused by a lack of communication between the members of a surgical team, or production pressure that leads to an individual surgeon being assigned multiple surgeries at one time. In these instances, the surgeon is not alone in his or her responsibility for a surgical error that is not performed correctly due to a legal principle called "res ipsa loquitur" which means that the effect of the error speaks for itself and cannot be attributed to negligence.

If a patient gets injured as a result of surgery done on the wrong location it is possible that he or she will require additional procedures to repair problems that are aggravated by the surgical mistake. This can result in high medical expenses for patients as well as their families. It is crucial to take these costs into consideration when calculating the financial impact of medical Fort Wright Malpractice Lawsuit lawsuits.

Most often surgeons are accountable for surgical errors. They are responsible for preparing the patient for surgery, reviewing the medical record and chart of the patient, communicating with the rest of the medical staff, and ensuring that the incision was made in the correct place. In some cases the hospital or anesthesiologist may also be held responsible. Medical malpractice cases are usually filed in state courts, however, they can be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.