As you walk into a physician’s office or a hospital, your well-being and confidence are in the care of highly trained health professionals. However, sometimes mistakes happen, mistakes that can change a patient’s life forever. 

Across the country, thousands of medical malpractice cases are filed annually.

Understanding how to win a medical malpractice case, why patients sue physicians, and what medical errors are most likely to lead to lawsuits can help you see the bigger picture behind these cases.

Definition of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice occurs when a medical specialist fails to provide care to an accepted standard, resulting in a patient’s injury. Not every adverse outcome is malpractice; sometimes there are simply complications, even with the best of a physician’s efforts.

There are four aspects of law that must be established to construct malpractice:

1. Duty – The physician owed a duty of care to the patient.

2. Breach – The doctor was below standard in treatment.

3. Causation – The breach caused direct harm to the patient.

4. Damages – The patient suffered injury, e.g., medical bills, pain, or loss of earnings.

For patients and attorneys, understanding these elements is critical in learning the ways to win a medical malpractice case, since proving each one with clear evidence is the foundation of a successful claim.

Why Malpractice Lawsuits Are Filed

Patients file malpractice suits for several reasons, but some are more common than others. Amongst the most common of these are:

• Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis: Inadequate diagnosis of a condition can cause a delay in treatment. A nationwide study found that misdiagnosis accounts for about 34 percent of malpractice claims.
• Surgical error: Surgery on the wrong part of the body, foreign object retention, or damage to areas away from the intent of surgery primarily lead to suits.
• Inadequate communication: Failure by doctors, nurses, and patients to communicate effectively is among the leading causes of malpractice suits.

All of these happen as indicated by statistics. In fact, in the United States alone, from 17,000 to 20,000 malpractice suits are filed yearly. Georgia sees hundreds of suits yearly, with settlements averaging various amounts by case.

Types of Medical Errors Leading To Litigation 

Not all medical mistakes end up as the case of a malpractice lawsuit, yet some have a better chance of being taken to court.

Diagnostic mistake is the most common one. For instance, the doctor may miss cancer signs and thus delay therapy and have lower survival chances. Families and patients sue when they think the condition would have been diagnosed earlier.

Surgical malpractice is another prevalent source of lawsuits. Wrong-site surgeries or procedures, although rare, are disastrous. Such patients may undergo further operations, have longer recovery times, or be left with permanent disability.

Finally, system failures, i.e., inadequate record-keeping, broken equipment, or inadequate staffing, may also take starring roles in malpractice cases. In such cases, it is not an individual caregiver but the entire healthcare system at fault.

Conclusion

Malpractice cases reveal how medical errors can affect patients and families. All errors, however, are not malpractice; those who do find their way to the courts can lead to huge settlements. 

On top of that, malpractice suits are not just about money, most of the time, as they compel hospitals and doctors to improve safety, communication, and care protocols. If patients understand how to define malpractice, why complaints are submitted, and what errors often lead to a lawsuit, they can more effectively defend their health and rights.

Here are some key takeaways that summarize medical malpractice cases and settlements; 

• Medical malpractice occurs when a practitioner fails to act the way an ordinary, prudent practitioner would under the same circumstances and causes injury to the patient.
• Patients must prove duty, breach, causation, and damages to win a case successfully.
• The most common causes of claims include misdiagnosis, surgical mistakes, medication mistakes, communication mistakes, and failure to monitor.