Establishing a Medical Malpractice Case

Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional causes injury to a patient. This injury may happen through a negligent act or it can happen as an omission in the process of diagnosing, providing medical treatment, or providing aftercare. Statistics show that the third leading cause of death in the United States is medical negligence by health care providers. If you or a loved one suffered injuries as the victim of medical negligence, you may have the right to pursue justice and receive compensation from a medical malpractice claim.

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Elements of a Medical Malpractice Case

In order to establish a medical malpractice case, a person is strongly advised to consult with an experienced medical malpractice attorney. To build a strong and successful medical malpractice case, there are four elements that must be present. To file such a claim in a court of law, it must include the following:

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Duty

There must be an established relationship between the doctor or other health professional and the patient. Once this relationship is established, the patient has a right to receive medical care from the health professional including making a proper diagnosis of the medical condition, providing the correct medicine or treatment, determining if a specialist is needed, and ordering appropriate diagnostic tests.

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Breach of Duty

The definition of negligence is: “the failure to behave with the level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances.” Negligent behavior can mean negligent actions, or it can mean omissions of proper actions. It must be proven that the doctor or medical professional had a responsibility (duty) for providing the patient’s reasonable medical care, and there was a breach of that duty. Actual medical negligence must be proven; it is not enough to say that a patient is frustrated with the outcome of the procedure, or that a certain medical treatment did not work as expected.

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Causation

It must be proven that the medical professional directly caused the injuries of the victim as the outcome of his or her negligence. If a patient already had pre-existing conditions, these would not be considered part of the medical malpractice claim. Causation means that due to the direct negligence, carelessness, recklessness, or intentional misconduct of the health professional, a patient suffered additional injuries and losses.

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Damages

A patient must have suffered actual physical, emotional, or financial damages (or all of these) to warrant a valid medical malpractice lawsuit. Medical malpractice claims are legally complex and challenging. These cases mandate the testimony of many medical expert witnesses, and long hours of deposition testimony. For such a case to be viable, the patient must have suffered significant injuries or damages related to the medical negligence. In order to pursue a medical malpractice claim, a patient must prove that the injuries received resulted in significant medical bills, pain and suffering, disability, or loss of income.

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Examples of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice can occur in different ways. Some examples of medical negligence that may lead to a medical malpractice case include the following:

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● A misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose

● Ignoring laboratory results or misreading them

● Unnecessary surgery

● Wrong site surgery or other surgical errors

● Improper medication or improper medication dosage

● Poor aftercare or follow-up

● Premature discharge following a medical procedure or surgery

● Not carefully examining or interpreting the patient’s history or disregarding it

● Failure to recognize symptoms

● Failure to order proper diagnostic medical tests

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Statute of Limitations

There is a limited time frame in which a patient can issue a medical malpractice claim against a medical professional. This time frame is called the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations for medical malpractice in the state of California is three years from the date of the injury, or one year the date that the victim had knowledge of the injury. It is important to file a claim within the statute of limitations; there are a few, rare exceptions that extend this timeline. The failure to file a claim for medical malpractice within these deadlines will result in a victim remaining unable to pursue justice or receive compensation for their injuries and losses.

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Contact an Attorney

If you or a loved one were injured due to the medical negligence of a doctor, nurse or another medical professional, you only have a short period of time to file a claim in the state of California. Someone who is a victim of medical negligence may have the right to receive compensation for their injuries, including medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages. Contact an experienced attorney at Sandoval Law, APC and set up a free consultation today.

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