It may seem like if medical malpractice is alleged that the fault is easy to prove. However, in many medical malpractice situations, this isn’t necessarily true. Proving fault in a medical malpractice case is the single most important element in the case. No matter how tragic or unfortunate the incident in question may be, if the plaintiff can’t prove that a medical professional or medical institution was at fault, then their medical malpractice lawsuit won’t have any legs.
So how is this done? How can you prove that a medical professional or medical institution was truly at fault? Here are a few things to remember:
- Negligence is a common factor in medical malpractice lawsuits. You can prove this by establishing that a medical professional owed the patient a duty, and that the professional’s negligence deviated from that duty.
- If medications or prescriptions are involved, you can establish that the medical professional’s or pharmacist’s medical expertise means that they have to tell you all of the risks of the prescription and make sure that the prescription truly is safe for a patient.
- “Informed consent” can play a role in medical malpractice cases. This means that the medical professional receives written confirmation from a patient that the medical professional can perform a procedure on them — consent that is given after the professional discloses the potential risks of the procedure and any alternatives to the procedure. If they failed to get “informed consent,” the medical professional could be held liable for any medical error.
These are just a few ways to prove fault in a medical malpractice lawsuit. It may not be easy, but proving fault in a medical malpractice case can be done in many ways.
Source: FindLaw, “Proving Fault in Medical Malpractice Cases,” Accessed Feb. 26, 2015