What is Medical Malpractice?

Patient in distress or disease requires a physician to treat him. But sometimes there may be some negligence on behalf of the doctor. Now, negligence can more broadly be explained. Whenever an injured person approaches a doctor, his condition is assessed and a way of treatment decided there upon.

However, sometimes the physician may analyze it improperly and not do the needy. It is termed as ‘medical standard care’. According to this a patient should be treated with the best possible treatment for that particular situation. If the standard of treatment is substandard or delayed then it can be termed as a medical malpractice.

                                     

Understanding

A medical malpractice can be brought to the court when it can be proved that the doctor did not treat the patient according to the standard of medical care. In other words what another professional of the same cadre and given the same situation would follow a different and more effective treatment for the patient. Due to which the patient suffered more loss and did not brighten his condition.

                                     

Essential elements

If a person intends to sue medical personnel in a medical malpractice case, the following four elements are to be fulfilled.

•  Firstly, it has to be proved that the doctor promised the treatment.
• Secondly, the physician did not live up to the standard of medications.
• Thirdly, as a result of negligence the patient had a visible injury.
• Finally, the treatment was of the substandard kind.

Limitations

A legal battle is rather difficult against the doctor as he may allege that the injuries were not caused due to negligent treatment. For example, when a doctor prescribes medicine for a heart patient, and by some reason the patient suffers a cardiac attack, the doctor cannot be brought to law unless there lays a proof that the prescription is the cause of the attack.

There is also a locality rule in some states by which a medical practitioner can treat the patient in a particular method accepted in that particular area. But in some other states this has been modified into a more competitive practice wherein the evaluation is made both on grounds of customary practices of the local doctor and national medical standards.