Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is the failure of medical professionals to provide adequate treatment to patients resulting in a personal injury or substantial loss of income.

Statistics

According to an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, over 225,000 people die each year due to medical malpractice. This has become the third leading cause of death in the country, after heart disease and cancer.

These statistics can be broken down further to show the most common types of medical malpractice resulting in death:

· 12,000 deaths a year from unnecessary surgery

· 7,000 deaths a year from pharmaceutical errors in hospitals

· 20,000 deaths a year from other errors in hospitals

· 80,000 deaths a year from infections in hospitals

· 106,000 deaths a year from the adverse effects of medication

Elements of a Medical Malpractice Claim

A claimant in a medical malpractice lawsuit generally must show:

· The health care provider owed a duty to the patient

· The health care provider breached that duty

· The patient suffered an injury

· The health care provider's breach caused the patient's injury

To be found liable, a physician must first be found to owe a duty to patients before his or her competency in performing that duty can be judged. For example, a doctor dining in a restaurant has no duty to come forward and assist a fellow customer who is choking on a piece of food. However, once a doctor voluntarily elects to assist others or come to their aid, that doctor becomes liable for any injury that results from any negligence during that assistance.

Once this doctor-patient relationship is established, the doctor owes the patient the duty to render care and treatment in accordance with the degree of skill, care and diligence as possessed by or expected of a reasonably competent physician under the same or similar circumstances. These circumstances can include the area of medicine in which the physician practices, the customary or accepted practices of other physicians in the area and the level of equipment and facilities available to the physician at that time and in that locality. The requisite degree of skill and expertise under the circumstances is established in a lawsuit by expert testimony from other practicing physicians who share the same or similar experience, skill, training and licensing or certification as the allegedly negligent physician.

Vicarious Liability

In a medical malpractice lawsuit, a doctor may not be the only negligent party. For example, a hospital that has retained the doctor on its staff may be vicariously liable for the doctor's negligence. Many doctors also belong to private medical practices that also may be vicariously liable for the negligence of the doctors.

Conversely, a doctor is generally liable for any negligence on the part of his assistants and staff in carrying out his orders or caring for his patients.