The steps required to win a medical malpractice suit
As much as we want to believe that doctors are incapable of making mistakes, oftentimes they do. Sometimes these mistakes are just part of the process of practicing medical arts, but at other times, the care falls short of what should be an acceptable standard of care. When that standard of care falls short to the degree that it causes a patient harm or in extreme cases, death, then an experienced medical malpractice lawyer can make a case for damages on your behalf.
Proving medical malpractice requires proving that the doctor or team of doctors was negligent in providing an acceptable standard of care to a patient. To establish negligence requires proving four key elements:
1. There was an existing relationship between the doctor and the patient. Therefore the doctor owed a reasonable standard of care to the patient.
2. The standard of care is a known entity and the doctor deviated from that standard, breaching his duty to the patient.
3. The deviation and the breach can be shown as the direct cause why the patient suffered additional harm, injuries or death.
4. There was an actual injury to the patient.
Another way to prove medical malpractice is if a doctor does not provide informed consent to his or her patient. Informed consent means that a doctor has a duty to make sure the patient understands all the benefits, risks and alternatives to a procedure or a course of treatment, the use of medical devices or the prescription of drugs to treat an ailment or condition. To protect themselves, doctors will always make sure that an informed consent document is signed prior to beginning any kind of treatment.
Medical malpractice can also extend to drug makers and manufacturers of medical device equipment. They may also be held accountable if they do not adequately warn patients and doctors of the dangers or the side effects of their products prior to usage.
Williamson Fontenot Campbell & Whittington, LLC proudly serves Baton Rouge and nearby Louisiana communities.