Do You Have a Case for Medical Malpractice?
Overview: Determining whether or not you have a case for medical malpractice can be a complicated process. If something goes awry with your medical care, it’s possible your provider has committed medical malpractice. But how can you be sure? Read on to learn more.
Medical malpractice occurs when a patient suffers harm from a healthcare provider who fails to perform their duties competently. Particularly egregious cases of malpractice often result in lawsuits. However, it’s important to note that just because something goes wrong or the patient’s condition goes from bad to worse doesn’t qualify their case as medical malpractice.
Modern medicine provides patients with better health and longer lives, but there are some inherent risks and potential harms associated with receiving medical treatment. Even procedures or treatments that you may consider routine can have side effects. If you have a bad experience while under a doctor’s care, you be tempted to jump right into a malpractice case. But there are several factors and variables to keep in mind before you proceed.
Medical Malpractice vs. Medical Negligence:
All legitimate medical malpractice cases have one thing in common: the healthcare provider’s action or inaction constitutes a failure to meet the appropriate standard of care for the circumstances.
However, note that medical malpractice is not the same thing as medical negligence. “Medical negligence” occurs when a doctor or health care professional makes an unintentional “honest mistake” that results in injury or harm to a patient. Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor takes an intentionally negligent action, knowing the potential consequences, and the patient suffers as a result. It can be confusing trying to remember the difference between the two, but it’s an important distinction.
When It’s Malpractice:
Negligence that rises to the level of medical malpractice can occur in multiple different situations. From failure to take the necessary steps to diagnose a harmful condition to ignoring the need for certain medical treatments, the carelessness of doctors who are not acting in good faith can have serious negative effects on patients.
Like everyone in every industry, doctors aren’t perfect, and we shouldn’t expect them to be. A medical malpractice case doesn’t come about simply because a doctor fell short of perfection, but rather because their actions fell short of the medical standard of care.
Related Reading: Learn more about the medical standard of care
Most medical malpractice cases revolve around questions like: What was the appropriate medical standard of care in the situation? Did the defendant adhere to that standard, or deviate from it? If the defendant deviated, did they do so knowingly? Parties on both sides of the case – doctor and patient – will turn to medical experts to bolster their arguments.
Related Reading: Medical negligence – the law explained
Improper Treatment:
This is serious and the most common category of malpractice – if your doctor performs a treatment that a professional health care provider acting in good faith would not perform, the patient may qualify to file a medical malpractice claim. Additionally, if the doctor chooses the right treatment but fails to administer it appropriately, the act may qualify as medical malpractice.
Recklessness:
Although it’s a rarity in the medical world, in some instances, a doctor’s action or inaction may be reckless. For instance, a doctor who performs the surgery while he isn’t sober or is under the influence of drugs or alcohol can be said to have acted recklessly.
Other examples include doctors who administer potentially lethal levels of medication to a patient in contravention or transgression of accepted medical practice. This can include a wide range of prescription medications, including painkillers.
When It Is Probably Not Medical Malpractice:
These scenarios likely won’t amount to a viable medical malpractice case.
The Patient’s Condition Gets Worse:
A doctor can’t be accused of medical malpractice because a patient’s condition worsens during treatment for reasons beyond the doctor’s control. Sometimes, a doctor is unable to treat – let alone cure – a certain illness, generally because of the nature of the illness or the condition of the patient.
Even when a certain condition is considered treatable, there’s no guarantee that every patient will respond to treatment the same way in all situations. As long as the doctor is well-intentioned in carrying out a course of treatment, no medical malpractice can be said to have occurred.
The Patient’s Condition is Untreatable:
Not all illnesses and health problems are treatable at all, so a doctor who diagnoses a health problem correctly and makes sound decisions about how to proceed with the patient’s care would not be said to have committed malpractice. The patient’s condition is an important factor in these cases.
Requirements for Medical Malpractice Claims:
With all this said, if you’re certain that your case falls under the category of medical malpractice, you should know that states require such claims to meet specific criteria. A medical malpractice lawyer will help you make sure your case meets all the requirements to move forward.
So what are the requirements? To bring a civil action against a medical professional, you’ll have to show the following:
Doctor-Patient Relationship:
This is an obvious step, but it’s an important one. To proceed with a malpractice case, you must show evidence that you had appointments with the doctor, and the doctor was well aware of the illness you were facing, yet negligence still occurred. You should also have evidence that you paid them for the medical care they provided.
Patients may meet these requirements by showing their medical bills and invoices. There might be additional questions for you to answer about your relationship with the healthcare provider in question if the primary doctor associated with your case was not the only one to administer your treatment.
Negligence Resulted in Injury:
In addition to providing the receipts, you must also show that this negligence caused you an injury. Unfortunately, life isn’t like the infamous “Junior Mint” episode of Seinfeld. In reality, a surgical procedure gone wrong can have a serious impact on the patient. But to prove malpractice, you’ll need to prove that the doctor’s actions caused an injury.
Many failed malpractice cases involve patients whose injuries actually already existed. If your doctor diagnoses you with a disease, you can’t bring legal action against them simply because you have the disease. The doctor had no way of knowing what your condition was before examining you. On the other hand, if the doctor sees signs of disease but fails to suggest a test, or if the doctor ignores your description of your symptoms that could lead to a diagnosis and your condition worsens, you might have a case.
In Summary:
Being the victim of medical malpractice is an awful experience, but it’s best not to rush into filing a lawsuit. There’s a lot of preparation involved, and medical malpractice lawsuits are quite tough to win as they usually hinge on complex medical and legal questions. To stand a chance of winning your case, you’ll need experts on your side.
Fortunately for you, we are those experts! If you think you might have a legitimate malpractice case, get in touch with our medical malpractice attorneys and let us point you in the right direction!
William Shapiro has handled catastrophic injury/wrongful death actions for over 4 decades obtaining numerous seven and eight-figure verdicts and settlements. Honors include: 2022, 2016 and 2013 OCTLA “Top Gun” TLY; 2022 CAOC TLY Finalist; 2018 “Lifetime Achievement Award” Western State College of Law, 2021 & 2017 Best Lawyers, Lawyer of the Year; 2016 WSBCBA “TLY”; 2015 CAL-ABOTA “TLY”; 2014 “TLY” Consumer Attorneys of CAOIE; 2011 “Hall of Fame,” Western State College of Law; Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers; International Academy of Trial Lawyers; International Society of Barristers; Diplomat, American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA); National Board of Trial Advocacy; specialist in Trial Advocacy, State Bar of California; “Best Lawyers in America” and “Tier 1 Best Law Firms” U.S. News; AV Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell; SuperLawyers; Past President of: San Bernardino/Riverside chapter ABOTA; San Bernardino County Bar Association; Consumer Attorneys of Inland Empire; The Joseph. B. Campbell American Inn of Court; Consumer Attorneys of California; IE ; National Sec of ABOTA, Adjunct professor, Western State College of Law. Learn more here.