by Nathan Majors

Auto AccidentsNovember 29, 20180 comments

When a Truck Accident Changes Your Life, What’s Next?

We trust our healthcare providers to do right by us and our families. More often than not, they do. But there are those times when negligence results in serious injuries to patients. We represent victims of medical malpractice in the knowledge that they deserve justice.

Understand that medical malpractice cases can be harder to prove than cases involving traffic accidents, slip-and-fall injuries, etc. The law is very clear about what medical malpractice is, but building a good case requires a thorough understanding of how the law works.

This post will explain what constitutes a good medical malpractice case. If you believe you have been wronged by a healthcare provider, we invite you to contact us to learn more about your rights.

What the Law Says

Medical malpractice litigation can be a bit tricky due to the burden of proof concept. As personal injury attorneys, we have to prove that defendants have caused direct harm to a patient through their own actions and decisions. The law dictates that a legitimate case must be built around three things:

1. Standard of Care Violations

There is something known as the ‘standard of care’ in the healthcare industry. It is actually a set of standards recognized by the medical community as being prudent and in the best interests of the patient under certain circumstances.

In simple terms, the standard of care dictates that doctors will act reasonably and prudently to ensure their actions help patients rather than hurt them. It dictates that doctors will do whatever needs to be done to ensure the best possible outcome.

In order for a medical malpractice case to be considered legitimate, there has to be some violation of the standard of care. Such a violation is what establishes negligence.

2. Identifiable Injury

Standard of care violations are the toughest part of a medical malpractice case to prove. Once proved, a strong medical malpractice case must then prove that the provider’s negligence resulted in an identifiable injury. Furthermore, plaintiffs must prove that the injury would not have occurred had the defendant not been negligent.

Why is this necessary? Because experiencing a negative outcome after receiving healthcare services does not necessarily equal negligence. The negative outcome must be the direct result of a standard of care violation in order to be considered legitimate malpractice.

3. Financial Damages

Finally, a good medical malpractice case identifies real financial damages as a result of the provider’s negligence. Those damages include everything from court costs to loss of income. Here’s the kicker: the total financial damages must exceed the cost of litigation in order to be worth pursuing.

While proving financial damages is not necessarily difficult, this is the sticking point for many medical malpractice cases. Sometimes the financial damages are just not high enough to warrant litigation that could cost significantly more than the amount of money awarded.

Let’s Talk About It

What we have outlined in this post is intended to serve as a general guide to medical malpractice claims. It should by no means be taken as hard and fast advice pertaining to your case. Every case is different, so the only way to know if yours is strong enough to pursue is to sit down with an experienced attorney and talk about it.

If you believe you have a legitimate medical malpractice case, please contact our firm. One of our attorneys would be more than happy to review all the facts with you. If your case is strong enough, we will recommend the best course of action and, if you desire, represent you.