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.
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