What Does a Medical Malpractice Lawyer Do?

Medical malpractice is an area of tort law that deals with the negligence of a medical practitioner in administering care. An attorney in this field needs to have plenty of technical knowledge and experience to be successful.

An understanding of both the perspective of the offending physician and the victim is necessary to pursue justice.

What Does a Medical Malpractice Claim Look Like?

A medical malpractice claim can arise from the actions of various types of medical practitioners, including doctors, physician assistants, and nurses. Any medical professional who performs substandard care or obvious error that results in harm may be liable.

For example, a doctor may prescribe a patient the wrong medication, resulting in their condition worsening. In this case, the patient may pursue a medical malpractice suit against the provider to gain compensation.

Before filing a suit, victims need an medical malpractice attorney to aid them in their legal battle.

For a victim to succeed, the healthcare professional must have been negligent in their care. Negligence is a common tort legal theory with four elements which must be proven:

• The healthcare provider owed you a duty of care;
• The healthcare provider breached this duty of care;
• This failure resulted in actual harm to you; and
• The healthcare provider’s breach is what caused your harm.

According to Emmanuel Sheppard & Condon, victims of medical malpractice usually seek money damages to compensate them for pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of earning capacity, and medical expenses.

In some cases, additional punitive damages may even be warranted to punish a medical provider for particularly egregious or intentional behavior. However, medical malpractice cases can be tough to win, which is why an experienced attorney is vital.

What Makes a Medical Malpractice Claim Difficult?

There are a number of factors that may make a medical malpractice claim difficult. Two of the most common are the difficulty in proving that a medical provider violated their duty of care and the bias jurors may have in favor of doctors.

Proving the Standard of Care

The standard of care required of healthcare providers is the same standard that a similarly situated healthcare provider would follow. This takes into account the location of the doctor’s practice, their years of experience, their schooling, and readily available equipment.

To show that a provider violated their professional duty of care, you need to show that a similar provider would have acted differently. This typically requires expert testimony.

Except in clear cases, it is tricky to pin down the doctor’s conduct as violating their duty of care. Say a doctor performs a surgery using a less common method.

If the surgery results in harm, the patient may attempt to hold the doctor liable for negligence. However, just because a certain method of surgery is less common doesn’t necessarily mean it is negligent. There are many ways doctors go about administering care, and they are not all-knowing people.

Juror Bias

The second hurdle is that people are generally sympathetic with healthcare providers being sued. Jurors know that doctors are people too and can easily make mistakes without being negligent. Unless a lawyer can really hold a defendant’s feet to the fire, a jury will usually side with the doctor.

The Bottom Line

A good medical malpractice attorney knows all the theories and difficulties of the field. A thorough understanding of both medical and legal concepts and how they intertwine is a requisite skill.

Your attorney will be able to give you a realistic expectation of the likely outcome and how long it might take. Ultimately, a medical malpractice attorney must be experienced enough to advocate effectively that you were harmed and deserve compensation.