Doctors and medical staff work in high-pressure situations, including life-and-death scenarios. For the most part, medical staff are able to improve the condition of their patients. However, doctors are only human, which means they can make errors.
An error in itself is not necessarily medical malpractice. For a medical malpractice claim to be valid, four key elements must be present. Outlined below are the four key elements of medical malpractice cases.
1. The duty of care
The starting point of any malpractice claim is establishing a duty of care. All doctors and medical professionals owe a duty of care to anybody they treat. That duty of care begins from the moment of the first consultation.
2. A breach of duty of care
The second element of medical malpractice cases is deciding whether there has been a breach of duty of care. As previously mentioned, an error or honest mistake does not necessarily amount to malpractice or a breach of duty of care. The error must be so severe that it deviates from the accepted standard in the medical profession.
3. Causation
For a medical malpractice case to stand, the error from a medical professional must have directly caused injury to the patient.
4. Quantifiable damages
Finally, once the first three elements have been satisfied, the patient must have suffered quantifiable damages. These include a worsened physical condition, pain and suffering, emotional damages, financial damages and loss of enjoyment in life.
If a medical professional has let you down, you may be able to hold them to account legally. Seeking as much information as possible will increase your chances of success.