According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, medical malpractice suits are one way in which problems or areas in need of improvement can be identified within the United States medical system. The process can be a bit complicated at times, and it is important to know if your medical situation fulfills the basic requirements to constitute a malpractice claim.
A medical malpractice case, in its most basic form, is a negligence case brought against a medical provider, stating that negligence in their work caused injury or death to you or a family member. In order to win a negligence case, you will have to be able to prove the following:
- “A duty was owed.” – When a doctor, hospital, or other medical professional agrees to accept you as a patient, they are entering into an agreement whereby a legal duty exists for them to provide you with medical assistance to the best of their ability.
- “A duty was breached.” – The medical professional undertaking your care “failed to conform to the relevant standard of care.” In order to prove this point, an understood standard of care has to be proved either through expert testimony or by errors obvious enough that expert testimony is unnecessary.
- “The breach caused an injury.” – By failing to work according to the relevant standard of care, your medical professional’s failures can be identified as a proximate cause of the injury / death in question.
- “Damages.” – For you to have legal basis to file a claim against a health care professional, you (or the individual bringing the case) must have incurred damages, either pecuniary or emotional. Even if your medical provider was clearly negligent, without damages, there is no basis for a claim.
If you or someone you know is in need of a medical malpractice specialist, contact the Minneapolis medical malpractice lawyers at Terry, Slane & Ruohonen, PLLC at 612-362-0000.
