Medical malpractice occurs when a hospital, doctor or other health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, causes an injury to a patient. The negligence might be the result of errors in diagnosis, treatment, aftercare or health management.

It’s the plaintiff’s medical expert who provides the key evidence, through detailed (and often quite complex) testimony — painstakingly walking the jury through the plaintiff’s condition, the appropriate course of treatment or diagnosis methodology, and exactly what the doctor did (or did not do) at each stage of care.

Considerations For Medical Malpractice Under the Law

To be considered medical malpractice under the law, the claim must have the following characteristics:

• A violation of the standard of care – The law acknowledges that there are certain medical standards that are recognized by the profession as being acceptable medical treatment by reasonably prudent health care professionals under like or similar circumstances. This is known as the standard of care. A patient has the right to expect that health care professionals will deliver care that is consistent with these standards. If it is determined that the standard of care has not been met, then negligence may be established.
• An injury was caused by the negligence – For a medical malpractice claim to be valid, it is not sufficient that a health care professional simply violated the standard of care. The patient must also prove he or she sustained an injury that would not have occurred in the absence of negligence. An unfavorable outcome by itself is not malpractice. The patient must prove that the negligence caused the injury. If there is an injury without negligence or negligence that did not cause an injury, there is no case.
• The injury resulted in significant damages – Medical malpractice lawsuits are extremely expensive to litigate, frequently requiring testimony of numerous medical experts and countless hours of deposition testimony. For a case to be viable, the patient must show that significant damages resulted from an injury received due to the medical negligence. If the damages are small, the cost of pursuing the case might be greater than the eventual recovery. To pursue a medical malpractice claim, the patient must show that the injury resulted in disability, loss of income, unusual pain, suffering and hardship, or significant past and future medical bills.

In 2012, over $3 billion was spent in medical malpractice payouts, averaging one payout every 43 minutes.

Some Examples of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice can take many forms. Here are some examples of medical negligence that might lead to a lawsuit:

• Failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis
• Misreading or ignoring laboratory results
• Unnecessary surgery
• Surgical errors or wrong site surgery
• Improper medication or dosage
• Poor follow-up or aftercare
• Premature discharge
• Disregarding or not taking appropriate patient history
• Failure to order proper testing
• Failure to recognize symptoms

The Medical Standard of Care

The issue of the appropriate medical standard of care to apply is often one of the most contentious in a medical malpractice case, and proving this element is usually a two-pronged task that includes:

• establishing the appropriate medical standard of care that should apply to the patient’s case, and
• showing in detail exactly how the defendant (the doctor or other care provider) fell short of meeting that standard.

In a nutshell, the medical standard of care is the type and amount of skill and attention that a prudent, similarly-trained health care professional, in the same medical community as the defendant, would have provided to the patient. That’s a lot of “legalese,” but that’s because it’s a complex concept.

Work With One Of Our Medical Malpractice Attorneys

If you believe that you or a family member may have been a victim of medical malpractice resulting in serious injury, you should consult with one of our medical malpractice attorneys.  Medical malpractice law is highly regulated by a complex body of rules, which vary considerably from state to state, so it’s often essential to get advice or representation from a lawyer.

If you (or a loved one) suffered an injury based on a bad diagnosis, botched surgery, doctor fraud, prescription error, or breach of doctor-patient confidentiality, a medical malpractice lawyer can help.  Our medical malpractice lawyers may also defend you if you are a medical professional who was sued for malpractice.