Medical Malpractice Liability Laws
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor's treatment fails to meet the applicable standard of care. While malpractice law varies from state to state, in many circumstances, the standards to which a doctor are held are nationwide in scope.
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Standard of Care
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Doctors are required to meet the standard of care for in their locality. The law recognizes that resources and experience will differ across the nation. For some specialties, the standard is not the local region but a look at the practice nationwide. When looking at the standard of care, the doctor must meet the standard as acceptable by the majority of doctors, or that accepted by a respected minority where there is a dispute as to treatment. Failure to meet the standard can mean that the doctor was negligent in his treatment and care.
Proving Negligence
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A medical malpractice case will revolve around whether the doctor was negligent, or whether she met the applicable standard of care. There are multiple ways to prove this. In addition to reviewing the applicable standard of care, one can compare the doctor's actions to any clinical or practice guidelines as to generally accepted practices. Ultimately, proving a doctor failed to meet the standard of care will require testimony from other doctors familiar with the type and nature of the work in question. Thus medical malpractice cases become a battle between opposing experts, as each side attempts to prove, or disprove, that the defendant doctor failed to meet the standard of care.
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Informed Consent
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A doctor may also be liable for failure to inform a patient fully as to any and all complications that may arise from a given procedure. A patient that has not been fully informed will be deemed to have not given consent. Thus a doctor could perform a medical procedure, meet the applicable standard of care, yet still be found liable for any complications due to her failure to properly notify the patient of all potential complications.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit doctor's treatment image by TEMISTOCLE LUCARELLI from Fotolia.com
