Only a small number of medical malpractice cases are fought out in front of a jury. The cases that fail to make it to trial are generally settled outside of the courtroom through a settlement or dismissal. When the cases do make it to trial, the majority rule in favor of the physician rather than the victim.
It’s important to hold medical professionals to a high standard. You should be able to trust your physician with your life, especially in life-threatening scenarios.
With the right lawyer in your corner, you can create a solid case against the healthcare professional. This will help to get justice for you or your loved ones’ unjust pain and suffering.
Continue reading to learn everything that you need to know about the term standard of care that gets mentioned quite often in medical malpractice lawsuits.
What Is the Standard of Care in the Medical Community?
Hawaii law requires all healthcare professionals to abide by a certain standard for patient care. This is a legal measure that protects medical professionals from unnecessary complications. It also protects their patients’ best interests.
It’s not a guide, suggestion, or list of options, but the sworn duty that a physician takes on when they see a patient. The Hippocratic Oath is a promise that a doctor makes to his or her patients. It means that they will act in an ethical manner when it comes to providing them with medical services.
It all boils down to the level of care that should be provided in a medical situation by a skilled professional in any given medical field. A physician’s rigorous education and training permit them to develop how they practice medicine. This standard of care that they adhere to is widely accepted throughout the entire medical community.
When a medical professional fails to provide the standard of care, it can cause serious harm to their patient. Thankfully, most doctors meet or exceed the standard of care.
Not all medical errors are considered medical negligence. When you go to the doctor for treatment, there’s a chance that your problem will stay the same, get better, or get worse. A medical-related injury is considered malpractice when a doctor fails to uphold their standard of care.
Hawaii is a modified comparative fault state. If the patient is less than 50% responsible for the injury, they can claim damages. If they happen to be at fault by 51% or more, they could lose any compensation for their injuries.
What Do You Need to Prove Medical Negligence?
There are four things that you need to be able to prove during a medical negligence case, including duty, breach, causation, and damage.
First, you must prove that the doctor-patient relationship took place. Once a doctor-patient relationship forms, the doctor is held accountable for their actions regarding the aforementioned standard of care.
Second, you must prove that the doctor failed to perform their duty. This failure to act causes a breach in the doctor-patient relationship and a violation of the trust that one must have with their medical team.
Third, you have to prove that the physician’s negligent behavior causes the injury. Causation is often times the most difficult to prove because some medical complications occur even when the physician is at or above the accepted standard of care.
Fourth, you have to prove how the injury disrupted your quality of life. Your medical malpractice lawsuit will provide you with compensation for damages from lost wages and your overall pain and suffering.
How Do You Validate a Standard of Care Violation?
Proving that a doctor deviated from the standard of care is essential for your case. Your medical malpractice lawyer will provide the court with an expert witness to take the stand. This witness is going to be a practicing physician in the same medical field as the physician in question.
This medical expert witness will give a testimony on what the standard of care was and how the defendant’s action (or inaction) caused a patient’s death or injury. Their testimony is used to determine causation because they have the exact type of training and skills as the physician you’re up against. They’ll be able to explain in layman’s terms what happened.
Why Is It Important to Have a Medical Expert Witness?
Not everyone has a medical background. This includes the individuals acting as judge and jury in your lawsuit.
The judge isn’t likely to be a doctor, and it’s possible that the jury members aren’t either. If this is the case, they don’t have the education and technical training that would allow them to understand the difference between the standard of care and deviations from this standard.
There are, however, instances in which your jury will be able to determine a deviation from protocol due to common knowledge. You may still need a medical expert to answer questions along the way, but it can negate the need for placing the expert on the stand.
Ready to Get Justice for Medical Malpractice?
Deviating from the standard of care is dangerous and can result in negligence and even death. You don’t have to struggle in silence with an injury you sustained while seeking medical treatment. If you or someone you loved was the victim of medical malpractice, don’t hesitate to reach out to an attorney.
Contact Cummings Law in Honolulu today to get the justice you deserve. We can help you get compensation for pain and suffering, along with lost wages, when you’ve been injured as a result of medical intervention.
