What Does Breaching Duty Of Care Mean In Medical Malpractice?

All malpractice cases revolve around the concept of breach of duty of care medical negligence. Identifying how and when this breach occurred is how you determine if you have grounds for a lawsuit, and ultimately, if you can prove the case in the court of law. 

Here’s everything you need to know about the duty of care medical negligence.

Definition of duty of care

Defining duty of care depends on the context. In simple terms, it’s a legal obligation between two parties. For instance, in a school setting, all employees have a duty of care toward the children to keep them safe. Alternatively, medical professionals owe all patients a strict duty of care based on certain medical standards.

To prove a malpractice claim, the basic requirement is establishing that a medical professional owed you a duty of care. Next, you must also show that a breach of this standard of care occurred by demonstrating the level of care appropriate in the same circumstances. 

How do we prove duty of care existed?

Proving that duty of care exists is relatively straightforward as you only need to produce evidence of the doctor-patient relationship being established at the time when malpractice occurred.

The doctor-patient relationship is typically voluntary and there is plenty of evidence you can use to support your claim. You need either witness statements or documents that show you agreed to be treated by a particular medical professional, you were examined to discover a health issue, and the treatment occurred at the same time as the breach of care.

It’s also recommended to maintain records proving that the doctor completed the course of treatment. That way, a negligent physician can’t claim that the doctor-patient relationship didn’t exist at the time of the negligent event due to a lack of evidence. 

What is the medical standard of care?

Due to the nature of their occupations, medical professionals must always employ a high level of care, skill, and expertise. So how do you demonstrate that a defendant fell below the standards of care?

What determines the standards of care is the degree of skill and care a similar competent physician would have demonstrated in similar circumstances. These circumstances may include the area of medicine, the use of accepted practices, and the level of equipment as compared to the facilities in the area. 

A medical expert witness of a similar experience, skill, and certification can provide testimony in court that establishes whether the negligent doctor breached the duty of care medical negligence. 

What is a breach of duty of care medical negligence?

Breaching the duty of care means that a careless or irresponsible physician breached their duty of care and fell below the accepted medical standards, thus causing injuries or death to a patient. 

Breach of duty is generally accidental, but there are many cases of purposeful negligence, as well as instances of criminal or malicious intent. 

Here are some examples of medical negligence:

• Prescribing incorrect medication or an incorrect dosage
• Failing to diagnose a condition in due time
• Misdiagnosing a condition
• Misinterpreting laboratory results
• Failure to perform adequate tests
• Discharging a patient prematurely
• Not informing the patient of the risks of a particular treatment
• Making surgical mistakes 

It’s worth noting that an unfavorable medical result doesn’t necessarily mean a medical professional breached their duty of care, which is what we’ll talk about next.

Proving negligence led to harm

Another important element of a medical malpractice case is connecting the negligent event to harm. This isn’t easy because the actions of the doctor must be distinguished from the already existing condition.

For example, if a patient passes away from cancer and the family sues the medical team, it’s very difficult to determine if the cancer or negligence resulted in death. 

On the other hand, a standard protocol for an injury like a broken arm is taking an x-ray and setting the arm before placing it in a cast. If a physician improperly sets the arm and it heals incorrectly and leads to a partial loss of use, the poor medical care is directly related to the injury. 

Proving injury led to losses

After connecting the injury to the breach of duty of care medical malpractice, you must also demonstrate that the harm you suffered resulted in damages. This may include:

• Medical costs (procedures, treatments, hospitalization, prescriptions)
• Loss of wages
• Loss of earning capacity
• Pain and suffering 
• Mental anguish
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Punitive damages (awarded in cases of gross negligence)

Keep in mind that malpractice cases often get settled off court and are negotiated by your attorney and the physician’s insurer.

Why is it necessary to hire a malpractice attorney?

Medical malpractice is a complex legal claim that requires a deep level of expertise. This is why hiring the best attorney possible is an absolute necessity if you want to ensure the best possible outcome for your case. 

Sadly, not all cases (even where the medical negligence is clear) end up as a success. Data shows that most plaintiffs lose their cases even with strong evidence. More precisely, 50% of plaintiffs who have substantial evidence that a physician caused them serious harm will walk away without any sort of compensation for what they suffered.

The fact of the matter is, the experience and expertise of your legal team may play a bigger role in the outcome of the case than physical evidence. 

We can help you

Even if you believe that your case is as solid as it can be, you still need to have a legal team on your side who will argue the case effectively in court.

In Florida, you can’t go wrong with Sowell Chakour. During the last few decades, we helped many clients win favorable settlements (some amounting to millions of dollars) and assisted them in pursuing justice against the doctor who harmed them.

Our legal team consists of a surgeon-turned-attorney who brings an extra level of expertise into the mix and knows the industry in and out. We’re well-versed in all the strategies defendants use and can see them coming from a mile away, so we’re well prepared to fight for you until the bitter end. 

Improve your chances of victory - call (833) 633-6257 or fill out our contact form.

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.