What is negligence and how is it proved?

What is Medical Negligence?

Medical malpractice, a breach of civil duty that is owed to another person, is considered a tort crime. In order to successfully prove any tort crime, there must be a strong showing of negligence. In terms of a medical malpractice claim, negligence provides that because of a doctor’s special skills and training, doctors owe their patients a certain specific duty of care that is not usually owed to any given person from another. By establishing a standard of care that is required based on a given patient’s case, and providing where a medical professional deviated from the applicable standard of care, a patient is given the means to prove where the negligence occurred. Ultimately a patient cannot prove negligence without a definitive standard of care in a given case.

Proving Medical Negligence

State law typically defines negligence and the medical community defines the standard of care a doctor is required to perform. “Acceptable practice” comes from a medical expert’s experience, literature, medical texts or publications from groups like the American Medical Association. In most cases, if the doctor deviated from the standard of care it must be established at trial by expert testimony. In some states, expert testimony must be established before a victim can initiate a lawsuit. Ultimately, only a medical expert witness can definitively determine the applicable standard of care, when and if there was a breach of that standard, as well as determining if negligence led to damages. Through their legal counsel, a patient will provide details and case-specific information to a third-party medical expert, who will be responsible for testifying on the case details.

Additional Ways to Prove Medical Negligence

In addition to expert testimony, negligence can be illustrated via the following means, among others:

• • Information related to your diagnosis
• • Letters received from your hospital or health care provider
• • Medical receipts
• • Test results
• • Doctor’s notes
• • Pictures of your injuries
• • Any personal log entries recorded regarding your medical history

In rare cases, medical negligence claims will not require any proof of the applicable standard of care. If a given patient’s sustained damages are obvious enough to a third party non-professional, a negligence claim is valid without proof. Some examples of this would be wrong-site surgeries, gross professional misconduct, and even wrong patient surgeries. Even though in these cases, providing expert testimony may not be required by state statutes to win in court, it can prove beneficial.

Medical Negligence Attorney

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of any kind of medical treatment and believe that your injury is the result of medical negligence, call Dan Newlin Injury Attorneys today at 800-257-1822! It is very important that you have an attorney with experience in dealing with medical malpractice to ensure that you are compensated adequately. Hire an experienced and aggressive attorney today at Dan Newlin Injury Attorneys. Call today for a free consultation!