Medical Malpractice Claims

For many of us, our doctors are our human saviors; they are put on a pedestal and held at high regard. After all, it’s our lives in their hands. For most doctors, they take their oaths and service to heart. They treat their patients like family and guard their lives like their own. But just like the rest of us in this great country, doctors are people- they make mistakes, they don’t know everything; even though we, the public, think they do. When a doctor is professionally negligent and causes harm, personal injury or death to his patient; he will most likely find himself involved in a medical malpractice suit.

There are generally two parties in a malpractice suit; the plaintiff, which is the injured patient or a legal representative of the patient’s; as well, an executor or administrator of a deceased victim’s estate. The other party is known as the defendant, in this case, it’s generally a health care provider; this could be a doctor, dentist, a nurse, and even a therapist. Regardless, the plaintiff must prove four factors in order to file a malpractice claim against a healthcare provider. First, they must prove that a duty was owed; when a healthcare provider sees a patient for treatment this is an assumed factor. Second, the duty was breached. A breach of duty can mean several things. In general terms, it means that the patient was treated sub-standard to other patients that may have been in a similar situation. The patient might have been given the wrong medicine; usually in most situations- expert testimony from other doctors is used to support this factor. A third criterion must be met as well, that being that the breach of duty caused injury or harm. This injury or harm does not need to be physical; in the case of a therapist, it could be mental anguish and suffering. The final element needed for a medical malpractice claim is damages; without damages done to the victim or family of the victim; there can be no medical malpractice. Damages may be physically short-term, long-term, as well as emotional suffering. As well, damages may mean financial hardships; like lost wages, medical expenses, and long-term care. In some medical malpractice suits, even punitive damages are awarded to victims; punitive damages are meant to punish the defendant; generally these damages are only awarded if malice and reckless conduct are proven.

There are several studies on medical malpractice claims; one study conducted by the American Academy of Family Physicians, sited that out of 5,921 proven malpractice claims; an overwhelming 68% were in outpatient settings. These errors resulted in over 1200 deaths. The most common error in this study was medical mis-diagnosis. More recent studies have indicated that the most common error was due to medication errors. This recent study conducted in 2006, found that a total of 1.5 million people will be harmed every year due to medication errors. It is unknown the amount of people that die each year due to medical malpractice; some researchers estimate the number being as high as 98,000 people every year.