Medical Malpractice and its laws in the US
If any doctor does not follow at least minimum standard of care while dealing with its patients then we can say it attracts medical malpractice cases. Nowadays we get to see many instances of medical practice cases that are happening around the globe. Doctors are least interested to patient care but they are more interested in earning money. That is why laws are made to restrict these unethical practices but most of the time people fail to realize that they became victim of this malpractice.
Some Common Mistakes: Mistakes in treatment, improper diagnosis and lack of informed consent etc. are some of the common mistakes that lead to medical malpractices to doctors. In some cases those are obvious and then the patient should consult with the experienced doctors related to their injury before filing the actual claim.
If a doctor cannot diagnose a patient properly but other doctors can do it correctly and the patient is injured in that case the injured can file a case against that doctor.
When doctors do not get informed consent from their patient prior to giving treatment then they are liable for malpractice. For example: before doing any surgery doctor should inform their patients about its implication after surgery if they do not do this then they will be liable for malpractice. But in an emergency case doctors cannot be held liable.
Regulation: A patient may file a civil case against the physicians and other health care providers if they do any injury or death to the patients due to an act of negligence. But the patient must prove that their physicians have failed to take care of minimum standard while dealing with its patient and for that, it has suffered injury. However, doctors are not liable in all cases.
Statute of Limitation: In the USA all states have statutes of limitation for medical liability/malpractice claims. Thirty-six states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have special provisions for malpractice claims filed by minors. Twenty states have special provisions regarding foreign objects.
Alternative Dispute Resolution: 27 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico have specific provisions providing for alternative dispute resolution (arbitration, mediation or settlement conferences) in medical malpractice cases.
Seventeen jurisdictions-Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah, Virginia, the Virgin Islands and Wyoming—have requirements that medical liability or malpractice cases be heard by a screening panel before trial.
Expert Witness: Expert Witness plays an important role in medical malpractice cases as they can give an opinion to the juries and judges after studying the case.
Thirty-two states and Guam have provisions regarding minimum qualifications for expert witnesses in this regard.
Limits on Attorney Fees: 28 states have provisions that place limitations on attorneys' fees.
How to get compensation: To get compensation in medical malpractice cases the plaintiff should hire an experienced attorney who can fight their cases in the court of law after following all the legal procedures and its implications. If those cases are not handled with proper attention then they may lose their case. But most of the time we see out of court settlement.
Author
Juliana Rahman,