Factors Involved in Breach of Duty of Care in Medical Malpractice Cases

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Having health problems of any sort implies seeking help and treatment from those in charge of legally providing it. Our society functions in a certain way, one in which you seek professional advice and help from those who are experienced and those who are considered experts in their fields. When it comes to medical help and taking care of illnesses, injuries, and diseases, we turn to the medical field and the doctors that represent it. It is how society has worked for thousands of years and how it always will be.

When Those Who Should Help Fail

Patients trust their doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals with their lives and their wellbeing, because who else can they turn to in a scenario where their health is at risk?  Unfortunately, there are many cases where negligence by such trusted medical professionals can lead to severe mishaps and situations where things end up many times worse than what was originally the case. These cases of medical malpractice can cause considerable losses, both for the patient who ends up suffering more and necessary and the medical practitioner or the entire facility.

More and more of these cases happen every year and the reasons for it are different. From inexperienced medical staff to the simple lack of empathy and care, many different things can be the cause of medical malpractice and breach of duty. In an effort to combat this and offer support for the patients’ troubles, numerous professional law firms specialize in medical malpractice lawsuits like JJS Justice in order to ensure that these victims receive appropriate compensation.

The lawyers help file lawsuits to hold the medical professionals responsible for their mistakes. For example, in case something like this ever happens to you, you can file a civil suit for a medical malpractice case. It could be turned into a criminal case if the medical malpractice by the personnel posed a threat to the patient’s life.

Taking Legal Action

A lawyer must establish certain factors before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. Since doctors and nurses receive training to ensure that all medical needs of the patients are taken care of, that is why one can claim a medical negligence lawsuit. The mishap occurred despite the medical worker having all the means to prevent it from ever happening.

Four factors are involved in the breach of duty of care that can lead to a medical malpractice case. Hiring a reputable, experienced attorney from law firms such as JJS Justice can be beneficial in filing a claim, which you absolutely need to do if you or your loved one ever end up in this situation.

• Duty

It is essential to establish if the doctor was on duty or not when the medical malpractice happened. Without specifying the doctor’s responsibility, they cannot be held liable or accused in a medical malpractice case. This is oftentimes difficult to judge and prove but it is also the thing that gets things in motion.

• Breach of Duty

The next step is verifying that a breach of duty has occurred. It could be due to negligence, or it could be due to the medical professionals forgetting something or omitting a step. Proving a breach of responsibility makes it evident that the doctor or the nurse is the one who caused the medical malpractice. This part needs to be proven for the legal case to be successful.

• Causation

After establishing the breach of duty, determining the cause is the next step. It shall determine that the specific violation of the duty caused the injuries to the concerned patient and made the original health problem worse. The breach of duty and its causation could be the doctor not prescribing the proper medicines or they did not obtain consent. It could also be related to the dosage of the medication, not monitoring the vitals during a procedure, or using an unsafe technique. Whatever it is, as long as it has caused preventable damage, it falls under the category of causality.

• Damages

After the cause, the next task is to calculate the damages to the complainant. These damages will include physical and mental injuries that a patient has undergone due to medical malpractice. In most cases, the court decides the amount for settlement of these damages and adequate compensation. Also, any and all additional medical bills that need to be paid and the treatment that the patient needs to have due to medical malpractice are typically calculated towards the final amount in damages.

Conclusion and Takeaways

This is definitely not something one wants to think about when seeking medical help from experts who are supposed to give it. One goes to the doctor to get better, not end up feeling and being worse. Despite most medical practitioners around the world being true to their profession and caring towards every patient, there are always those who show a lack of empathy and give next to no effort.

Doing some research and picking the best possible doctor may help, but malpractice can always happen as an accident like any other. Although small, a chance is still there so you need to know what needs to be done in case this happens to you.

As the victim of medical malpractice, the patient may have to go through a lot of trouble and pain. Therefore they need to understand that if such an incident has occurred, they must take a stand against it. Frequently, such patients may not be aware of how to fight a case or how to file a lawsuit which may be detrimental to them. This is quite normal since you do not really prepare for such legal action nor do you ever think about it.

A critical point that all victims should remember in such a situation is that they are the prime witness (and victim) to medical malpractice. Suppose, during a medical procedure, they become aware of some action that later leads to them suffering from an injury or a disease.

In that case, consulting a lawyer to build a timely case besides other physical and medical evidence they and their lawyers can collect is crucial. Make sure to act hastily if you ever suspect that something may be taking shape that should definitely not be.