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Make
no mistake about it; medical malpractice cases are not the easiest
cases in the world to prove. Even cases that appear open and shut
may have extenuating circumstances that can make winning very difficult.
People often mistakenly believe that if they had an unfortunate outcome
while they were in the hospital, then they can sue for medical malpractice.
This is not the case. To be successful, you have to show four things:
what the standard of care is, that there was a breach of this standard
of care, that this breach or negligence directly caused the injury
or death (or at the very least worsened the condition), and that this
entitles the claimant (the person bringing the medical malpractice
lawsuit) to just compensation.
Standard
of Care
As healthcare
professionals, your hospital, doctor, nurse, etc. owes you a legal
duty is to provide care that is in keeping with professional standards.
Another way to say it is that healthcare professionals have a duty
to provide you with a standard of care. Standard of care is loosely
defined as the actions that a reasonable healthcare professional in
the community would take in similar circumstances. What is considered
reasonable will vary depending on the type of healthcare professional
and the particular community. This means that standard of care in
a small out-of-the-way town may be very different then a state-of-the-art
hospital in downtown Boston.
Standard of care can also be determined by looking at what other professionals
in the particular area of medicine in similar communities around the
area or nation provide for their patients.
Negligence
or Breach of Standard of Care
Once
you have established what the standard of care is, the next question
to explore is whether there was a breach of this standard of care.
You need prove that the hospital, doctor, or nurse did not meet the
standard of care. Another way to say this is that there was a breach
(violation) of the standard of care. This is commonly referred to
as negligence. Negligence of care can occur at virtually any point
during a hospital stay.
In order
to prove breach of standard of care, the state of Massachusetts requires
that you bring in a qualified physician to testify as an "expert
witness." The physician must state that in their expert opinion,
the course of action taken by the hospital or medical personnel was
unnecessary, inappropriate, or unreasonable.
Negligence
Caused Injuries
Once
you prove that the hospital, doctor, or healthcare personnel treated
you with substandard care, you have to prove that it was this negligence
that directly caused the damages or, injuries, or death. At the very
least, you must prove that the mistake contributed to the worsening
of the condition. If the victim was misdiagnosed with terminal cancer,
but died the next week in a plane crash, then the doctor is not liable
for the death. Basically, the death was not caused by the misdiagnosis.
The defendant can also try to show that your state of poor health
is not due to their mistake, but rather to your lifestyle, age, genetics,
etc.
It is possible that the negligence played a part in the resulting
situation, but that it was not entirely responsible. In these cases,
it can be argued that the defendant (hospital, etc.) is liable for
the appropriate portion of damages.
Liability
and Damages
If the
standard of care has been breach and has been shown that it was responsible
for the medical condition, then the patient or the party bringing
suit is entitled to damages. Damages include compensation for medical
bills, lost wages, as well as monetary compensation for pain and suffering.
Damages cover not only losses suffered when the injury or death occurred
and during the trial, but also the expected losses in wages and livelihood
in the future.
The settlement for liability and damages is sometimes tricky to determine.
One question will be to what extents are your injuries are greater
because of the substandard care? Another question used to determine
damages is how the particular medical injury affects an individual's
ability to make a living and how it affects quality of life. The resulting
damages can differ greatly between two people of the same age and
gender.
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