Medical Malpractice

The litigation for medical malpractice began rising in the 1960s and by the 1970s the physicians and health care professionals began to claim that these suits were interfering with their medical practice.

So what is medical malpractice? Let us look at the definition of the term.

Medical Malpractice: Definition

Medical Malpractice is defined as the failure of a doctor or a health care professional such as nurses, dentists, pharmacists etc. to exercise the amount of care and skill which another health care profession of the same medical specialty would use under similar circumstances.

This means that when a patient is under the care of a health care professional, and he / she experiences that the doctor is not treating him with the same amount of care and skill as any other doctor from the similar field or capacity would, he can claim that the doctor is guilty of medical malpractice.

Since negligence is the basis for these allegations, usually medical malpractice claims fall under the scope of the law of torts.

Medical Malpractice Claims: What Needs To Be Proved?

In a typical medical malpractice suit, the following things must be proved by the plaintiff (or the person who is complaining):

• That the physician owed him / her a duty of care.
• That the physician violated the applicable standard of care.
• That the plaintiff suffered a compensable injury.
• That the injury was caused by the sub-standard care and conduct of the physician.

This means that the physician owes a duty of care to all those patients who seek his treatment. Once a doctor agrees to treat a patient, the patient is now under the care of the doctor and the doctor must provide him professional and competent care. The standards of care are usually laid down by different doctors’ associations.

However, if the treatment results in some kind of compensable injury to the patient, then the proof of such injury must be shown. This includes physical injury and the emotional effects of the treatment.

If a patient or his estate can prove that the above mentioned facts are true, then he can claim for damages in this case of medical malpractice. The burden of proof lies on the patient or his estate, not on the doctor or health care professional.

During the proceedings of the medical malpractice suit, often testimonies of experts and expert witnesses are called for by both sides of the claim.

Medical Malpractice: Types of Damages

The damages in the cases of medical malpractice can be classified as compensatory and punitive. Compensatory damages include economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages can include financial losses such as loss of wages, expenses for the medical care etc. These can also be assessed for past and future losses in this vein. The non-economic losses are the losses caused due to the injury itself such as physical loss (like loss in vision due to wrong treatment), the reduction in the enjoyment of life due to this injury, pain and emotional stress.

The punitive damages are usually awarded in the case of reckless conduct by the physician.

Often, the claims in these cases of medical malpractice can go up to millions of dollars in compensations. It is due to this fact, that most states have enacted limits for the damages awarded, with an idea of limiting compensations for non-economic losses such as for ‘pain and suffering’ related claims.

Medical Malpractice: How Doctors React

Insurance does not often cover for these medical malpractice suits. Or the insurance companies began to charge hefty premiums for doctors. And the doctors at large began to suffer because of this. They claim that the cost of health care has gone up because of the rising number of malpractice claims.

So, now the doctors practice a lot of what is termed as ‘defensive medicine’. This means, that a patient may often have to go through unnecessary tests and procedures which may not be medically required. These are merely defenses against the possibility of future malpractice claims.