Posted in Uncategorized
Medical malpractice is a personal injury case that is brought against hospitals, nurses, physicians, or other medical care professionals. These people are sued for medical malpractice when injury or disability occurs because they received medical care or treatment they did not need, did need but did not get it in time, and much more. To file medical malpractice a patient must have been injured due to negligence in the healthcare field associated with their injury or illness. They also have to prove the four elements of a medical malpractice claim.
These four elements are: that the health care professional had a duty to the patient, the duty was breached, the breach caused direct harm, and the harm caused the injury or disability.
If any of the following elements don’t present themselves then the victim may not have a case. In all personal injury cases, the burden is on the plaintiff or victim to prove their case. They must be able to prove the doctor or other professional involved was liable for the injury, and a doctor does not have to prove that he was not.
The standard of proof is used to assess a plaintiff and if they have proven their case or not—they have to prove that all four elements, more than likely, existed. Duty of care can be proved by proving the location you were treated at had to treat you—
Hospitals must treat all patients who are admitted; and the law requires that the hospital admits a patient who needs emergency care, even if they cannot pay.
- Doctors have a duty to patients under their care.
- Nursing homes’ duty is to their residents.
This duty is the easiest one to prove—but it has to exist for the malpractice case to be brought forth. You cannot claim an off-duty physician had a duty to treat you outside of the hospital or doctor’s office. Once you have established there was a duty of care, you have to establish that the doctor or professional you’re suing had a breach of duty. Were they less reasonable, less care, or less skilled than they should have been? Did they fail to diagnose you or present you with improper care or neglect to treat you properly at all? Those are all examples of duty that’s been breached. Furthermore, medication errors such as prescription dosage errors or the wrong medicine being given are breach of duty, as are unclean environments.
Causation is the hardest thing to prove because causation does not always equal what happened. You have to prove that the negligence was the direct cause of the damage or injury, and it gets tricky because the hospital may argue that it would have happened anyway. A hospital may argue that cancer that went undiagnosed would have killed the patient regardless of diagnosis; and while they are right, chemotherapy and other treatments may have given the patient more time and therefore it is considered medical malpractice.
These are just a few of the more common types of personal injury cases that a personal injury attorney Scottsdale, AZ handles. Even if you do not see your injury listed above, you should still contact the Yearin Law Office. If you’re unsure about your injury, the best way to figure out your options is to contact the Yearin Law Office.
Call today to set up a free consultation, where you’ll be able to discuss your case with a personal injury attorney in Scottsdale, AZ, and determine the next steps. Don’t wait until it’s too late to file. If you’re looking for a personal injury lawyer Scottsdale, AZ, offers then call the Yearin Law Office today.
