Components of Proving Negligence at a Hospital or Nursing Home

Hospitals, nursing homes, and medical providers must take great care when providing care to their patients. Health care professionals must act with the level of skill and knowledge commonly possessed by members of the same profession in good standing. The reason is that health care professionals are responsible for the medical treatments of an individual and a life is at stake. In a situation where a nursing home, hospital or medical provider becomes negligent towards its patient, the injured party/plaintiff has the right to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit against the defendant. In such a scenario, the best option is to consult an experienced personal injury/medical malpractice attorney in Tampa to assess the case and move it forward.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice refers to a specific personal injury case where the defendant is a medical provider. This type of lawsuit alleges that there has been a breach of duty by the defendant while providing medical care or treatment to the patient, and which caused damages to the patient.

A case of medical malpractice involves the following four legal elements:

Duty of Care

The first element that the injured/plaintiff has to show is that the hospital or nursing home had a duty of care to him/her. In the case of a hospital or nursing home, it can be easily established by the contractual relationship between the two parties. However, medical malpractice cases can also involve physicians and health care providers who are not employed by the hospital or nursing home.

In such cases, the question of who owes a duty to the plaintiff becomes complicated. Here, the duty of care owed to the plaintiff refers to the medical treatment that would have been provided under similar circumstances by a reasonable medical provider having the same skill and education as the defendant possessed.

Breach of Duty

The second element in the case that the plaintiff has to establish is that the medical care provider breached its duty of care. This can be proved by highlighting the actions of the medical care provider that deviated from the acceptable standard of care. This usually requires one or more medical experts to testify to what other hospitals, nursing homes, or medical practitioners would have done in similar situations.

Causation

The plaintiff should also be able to establish a direct connection between the breach of care and the injury that resulted as the third element. In legal terms, it means that the patient needs to show that if the breach of duty had not happened, the patient would not have faced the injuries. However, this is usually a difficult element to prove, and an experienced personal injury/medical malpractice attorney in Tampa having the expertise in such lawsuits can easily prove the case.

Damages

The plaintiff needs to have suffered some kind of economic or non-economic damages to file this lawsuit, which is the fourth element. Being displeased with treatment is not enough for an injured patient to file a case. Damages can include medical bills that are associated with additional treatment, which is warranted considering the breach of duty. It can also include lost wages that the plaintiff suffered due to missed work for treatment and recovery purposes. Non-economic damages can include pain and suffering, as well as emotional anguish.

Final Words

Owing to the complexities associated with medical malpractice cases, it is highly advisable to seek legal help. A skilled healthcare lawyer in Tampa not only has the experience but also the expertise to handle the intricate aspects of such cases and can decide if a case is viable or not. The attorney is also responsible for taking the case to court and litigating the case.