At their bare bones, a malpractice case is one of medical negligence. These cases prove patients, the victims, have been through something that caused trauma on their bodies, their minds, or their wallets. There are multiple things necessary for one of these cases to move forward to court, but not all instances succeed even after filling these factors.
Every case is unique, relevant to the victim, and vital for our medical system to take patients seriously.
Here’s how malpractice cases are constructed.
Initial Incident
From the patient’s view, this will come from something you feel or something a doctor tells you. It could be as minor as a surgical sponge left in a body cavity after closing, or as significant as incorrect limb amputation. This moment is when you notice something’s wrong. The patient will feel fear, loss of agency, and whatever physical symptoms come with it.
Show Professional Duty to Patient
We’re taught from birth that we should trust doctors. They take oaths to cause no harm; they go to school for endless years to ensure they’re doing their job correctly. If the doctor is yours in some respect, even if they’re doing a routine check-up, they must give you the best care and not cause you any loss.
Show Breach of Professional Duty
This step can be more complicated, so you must have your choice of medical malpractice attorneys to help guide you through the process. This moment is where the patient has to clarify that the doctor didn’t hold up their oath to protect the patient. This step can be painful to recall for many since the mistake isn’t always just a medical one.
Proof of Injury Caused By The Breach
This step is to prove the injury. Whether it’s mental anguish, physical pain or disfigurement, or whatever you experienced. Produce proof that your doctor didn’t act in good faith, and harmed you. There’s no acceptable level of hurting you; you deserve to live pain-free.
What Damages Resulted from Injury
Show the follow up after. Have you had to go to physical or mental therapy? Did you need a followup surgery? What time, money, and exertion went into overcoming what you went through? Be clear about your experience, but don’t lean too heavily on emotional triggers as they may be taken less seriously.
Supported By A Medical Expert
If you were able to answer all of these with justifiable responses, you should have no trouble finding a medical expert to support your case. Most coworkers of doctors will refuse to testify against them, but you can bring your case to the attention of another doctor who can help prove what you’ve endured. If you have gone to any therapy, the therapist should be able to back your claims and assist you in court.
After all of this, only 20% of most malpractice suits rule in favor of the patient. Go over everything twice before presenting it to a judge- and make sure you know all of the local laws so you can protect yourself from the case being thrown from court.