How Are Medical Errors Proven in a Malpractice Lawsuit?
Feb. 17, 2025
Proving a medical malpractice claim involves more than simply pointing out a mistake. It requires a detailed analysis of the care provided, professional opinions, and a clear link between the provider’s error and your injuries. These cases can be intricate, but with the right guidance, you can pursue justice.
At Justin Lowe & Associates in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, we understand how devastating it can be to discover that a medical error may have caused harm to you or a loved one. Medical professionals are held to high standards of care, and when they fail to meet those standards, the consequences can be life-changing.
Reviewing your rights and the legal process is essential in these situations. Our firm is here to provide the knowledge and support needed to manage your case effectively. Read on as we explain how medical errors are proven and what steps are involved in pursuing a malpractice lawsuit.
Establishing the Standard of Care
The first step in proving a medical malpractice claim is establishing the standard of care. This standard refers to the level of care and competence that a reasonably skilled medical professional would have provided under similar circumstances.
To demonstrate a breach of the standard of care, your attorney will rely on evidence such as medical records, policies, and expert witness testimony. Professionals can clarify how the actions—or inactions—of the healthcare provider deviated from what is considered acceptable medical practice.
Once the standard of care is clearly outlined, the focus shifts to determining whether the provider’s breach directly caused harm.
Proving a Breach of Duty
A breach of duty occurs when a healthcare provider’s actions fall below the established standard of care. This breach can manifest in various ways, such as surgical errors, misdiagnoses, medication mistakes, or other errors.
For example, a surgeon leaving a foreign object inside a patient would clearly represent a breach of duty. Similarly, failing to diagnose a life-threatening condition despite clear symptoms could indicate negligence. The types of negligence are numerous.
Demonstrating the connection between this breach and your injuries is the next critical step in building your case.
The Impact of Misdiagnosis
Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis is one of the leading causes of medical malpractice claims. When a condition is misdiagnosed, a patient may miss critical and timely medical care and life-saving treatment.
Attorneys will scrutinize medical records and consult with experts to determine whether a reasonable medical provider would have timely identified the correct diagnosis. If the evidence supports negligence, this can strengthen the argument for liability.
Analyzing the role of diagnostic errors provides a clearer picture of how medical malpractice occurred.
Addressing Surgical Errors
Surgical errors are another common source of medical malpractice claims. These mistakes can range from performing the wrong procedures, leaving surgical equipment inside the patient, perforation of organs during surgery, and others.
Attorneys often investigate preoperative and postoperative practices to identify potential negligence. Failing to act timely after a perforation can also constitute a breach of duty by the medical provider.
By evaluating surgical protocols, attorneys build stronger cases that highlight the preventability of such errors.
The Impact of Communication Failures
In many cases, medical errors arise from poor communication among healthcare providers. Miscommunications about patient history, test results, or treatment plans can lead to serious mistakes.
Your attorney will evaluate whether communication lapses contributed to your injury. For example, if critical test results weren’t shared with the appropriate medical team, this could indicate negligence. Addressing these issues strengthens your claim by highlighting preventable errors.
By examining communication breakdowns, we can better understand how systemic failures contributed to your harm.
The Importance of Informed Consent
Informed consent is a vital aspect of medical care, making sure that patients understand the risks, benefits, and alternatives of proposed treatments. When healthcare providers fail to obtain informed consent, it can lead to claims of negligence.
If you received treatment without being properly informed of potential risks, your attorney could argue that this oversight played a role in your injury. Reviewing consent forms and documentation helps establish whether you were adequately informed.
This focus on consent highlights another layer of responsibility in medical malpractice cases.
Causation and Linking Errors to Harm
In a medical malpractice lawsuit, it’s essential to prove that the medical provider’s error or negligence directly caused your permanent injuries, disability, or the death of a loved one. This concept, known as causation, is one of the most challenging aspects of a case.
Your attorney will work to establish a clear link between the medical error and the harm you or your loved one suffered. Some key factors to keep in mind include:
Detailed medical records that document your treatment and outcomes.
Expert testimony to explain how the error directly caused your injury.
Chronological evidence showing how the error occurred and led to your condition.
With causation established, the next step is to assess the impact of the provider’s negligence on your life.
Evaluating Damages
Damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit include both economic and non-economic losses. Economic damages might include medical bills, out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages, and loss of future earnings. Non-economic damages focus on the pain, suffering, emotional distress, grief, and loss of companionship caused by the error.
Your attorney will work closely with experts to calculate the full extent of these damages, making sure that all aspects of your losses are accounted for.
This thorough evaluation lays the foundation for presenting a compelling case, supported by strong evidence.
Gathering Evidence to Support Your Case
Building a successful medical malpractice case requires gathering comprehensive evidence to demonstrate negligence and its impact on your life.
Some key factors to keep in mind include:
Medical records: These provide a detailed history of your treatment and the provider’s actions.
Payment Records: Documentation detailing financial transactions, such as invoices, receipts, or bank statements, used to verify payments made or received relevant to the case.
Health Insurance Records: Detailed documentation including policy details, claims history, and benefits.
Witness statements: Input from other healthcare professionals, individuals involved in your care, medical experts, and other people who can testify to your pain and suffering, lost wages, disability, etc.
Medical expert analysis: Testimony from medical professionals who can verify the provider’s failure to meet the standard of care.
With strong evidence, your case can move forward with a focus on addressing potential defenses from the opposing side.
Challenging Common Defenses
Healthcare providers often raise defenses to avoid liability in medical malpractice cases. Common arguments include asserting that the injury was an unavoidable outcome or unrelated to their care.
To counter these claims, your attorney will present evidence such as expert opinions and detailed timelines. Demonstrating how the medical provider’s actions or inactions directly caused your injuries is essential to overcoming any defense the medical provider might claim.
Successfully addressing these challenges allows your case to progress toward a resolution.
Seeking Justice Through Settlement or Trial
Medical malpractice cases are often resolved after many months or years of hard work on the part of your attorney and his staff. They are often resolved during mediation, where both parties agree on a settlement amount without going to trial. However, some cases may proceed to court if a fair settlement can’t be reached.
During a trial, your attorney will present your case before a judge or jury, arguing for compensation that reflects the full extent of your damages. Whether through settlement or trial, the goal remains the same: achieving justice for the harm you’ve endured.
The resolution process underscores the importance of legal guidance in managing the intricacies of your case.
Importance of Timely Action
Medical malpractice claims are subject to strict statutes of limitations, which set deadlines for filing a lawsuit. Missing these statute of limitations deadlines will result in losing your right to file a lawsuit or to ever seek compensation.
Consulting an attorney immediately makes sure that your attorney and his staff have time to adequately prepare your case for filing a lawsuit. It allows the attorney and staff time to gather evidence and build a strong case. This can take many months, and it is important that you seek the advice of an attorney immediately if you believe you have been injured by a medical provider.
Taking timely action is crucial for preserving your rights and maximizing your chances of success.
Contact Us Today
At Justin Lowe & Associates, our experienced medical malpractice attorneys and paralegals are dedicated to helping clients manage the challenges of these cases. We serve clients in the Oklahoma City metro area, including Edmond, Norman, Moore, Guthrie, Yukon, and throughout the State of Oklahoma. Contact us today to discuss your case.