Getting A Grip On Medical Malpractice Law

By: Jay Anderson


Medical malpractice law governs doctors or other medical professionals to prevent them from treating patients improperly or with negligence which results in injury or death. On a broad scope, legitimate medical malpractice is simply a claim that is brought against a medical or healthcare professional due to a failure to adhere to the applicable standard of care.

Medical malpractice may be due to the unreasonable delay in treatment of a diagnosed medical condition; failure to provide appropriate treatment for a specific medical condition; or failure to properly diagnose or the misdiagnosis of a medical condition. The laws that govern medical malpractice often differ from state to state. This means that the stipulations regarding lawsuits will also differ depending on individual state laws. However, the broad definition of medical malpractice is universal meaning that damages can only be recovered if the patient incurs injury or death. If the doctor makes a mistake but the patient sustains no harm, there are no grounds for a lawsuit and no damages can be recovered.

Yet another segment of medical malpractice law has to do with the subject of informed consent. A patient must give informed consent to a medical procedure in order to have it done. This means that he or she knows all of the dangers and benefits of the procedure, and consents to any risks taken. When the informed consent is not properly obtained, the doctor can be said to have performed medical malpractice even if the patient is not actually harmed by the procedure.

In addition, the changing environment of medical care makes malpractice law ever more important. Medicine has become a business of profit, and to this end, physicians are under greater and greater pressure to make fast diagnoses and to be as efficient as possible. This opens the door for physician error.

Yet another problem with this new environment is that doctors and patients spend increasingly little time together, so that oftentimes, simply taking a patient history that is detailed enough to diagnose the problem is increasingly difficult. This, too, increases the chance for misdiagnosis or missing important symptoms. This makes medical malpractice law take an even greater role in improving both patient care and protecting doctors who have been erroneously sued.

In addition, some doctors are now countersuing patients whom they feel have filed frivolous or otherwise unfounded lawsuits. Although the actual percentage is unknown, some estimate that as many as 25 to 50% of lawsuits filed and which are later determined to be frivolous are still paid. This is because many insurance companies choose to settle claims instead of pursuing them in court, since this is actually cheaper for them to do.

It is very important that doctors carry medical malpractice insurance in order to protect themselves from lawsuits, regardless of whether the suit is valid or not. Even the most vigilant of doctors can have medical malpractice claims filed against them resulting in lawsuits. Doctors who have been sued should immediately contact their insurance company. They have an arsenal of resources to help fight medical malpractice lawsuits should they be found to be invalid.

There is some controversy surrounding medical malpractice. Some allege that it is ineffective because patients who have been injured by malpractice as well as physicians who are innocent of the claims can be victimized. It is widely regarded by experts that a new system that is more efficient and fair should be put in place as opposed to the current scenario of attorneys on both sides battling it out and all profiting regardless of the outcome. Both the patient's and the doctor's rights need to be taking into consideration and it should be a priority. The current system simply does not work. With one attorney vying against another with the simple goal to "win," the focus is shifted from what is fair and this is often cited as the problem with the medical malpractice system. Perhaps it is time for a change.


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