Medical Breach of Duty

How To Prove Breach of Duty

Proving a breach of duty in medical malpractice suits requires establishing four legal elements. We call these the “4 D’s of Medical Negligence.” First, it must be shown that the medical practitioner owed a legal duty to provide appropriate medical care to the injured party. Next, there must be evidence that this duty was breached through medical errors or negligence. Third, a direct connection between the breach and the harm suffered by the patient must be demonstrated. Finally, the injured party must prove actual damages resulting from the breach.

It’s important to remember that a doctor does not owe a duty of care outside of their medical office or the hospital. This means that doctors are not required to behave as “good Samaritans” under law. However, once a doctor declares himself and acts as a doctor, they officially owe a duty of care to their patients.

1. Proving the Existence of a Doctor-Patient Relationship and Establishing Duty of Care

The plaintiff and their attorney must first prove that a doctor-patient relationship was established and that the doctor had a legal and professional duty owed to a patient for a medical malpractice claim to proceed. This relationship is typically an implicit contract that is voluntary and mutually agreed upon when the patient seeks the physician’s care.

Documents and testimony that can be used to support a doctor-patient relationship and an expectation of a duty of care should include the following information:

• This doctor was chosen by the patient to treat him or her;
• The patient agreed to and received examinations from this doctor in order to treat a health issue;
• At the time the malpractice occurred, this doctor was still treating the patient.

An injured patient needs copies of medical records that show a specific treatment was administered under the care of the negligent physician. Otherwise, the physician could claim that the doctor-patient relationship ended before the negligence occurred.

Furthermore, to establish the duty of care in a medical malpractice case, the court must evaluate the level of competence, care, and diligence that a reasonable person, or in this case, reasonably qualified physician, would exhibit in the same or similar circumstances.

Things that must be considered for this include:

• The physician’s medical specialty;
• Other doctors’ typical or accepted practices in the area;
• The state of the equipment and facilities at the time, as well as in the surrounding region.

2. Establishing Breach of Duty of Care

The next required element for a valid medical malpractice claim is proof that the physician actually breached the previously established duty of care owed to the patient. Expert witness testimony from other doctors with similar abilities, training, certification, and experience may be used in court to illustrate the degree of ability and expertise of the allegedly negligent doctor. If a doctor fails to meet the standards that are required of someone in their area, they may be held accountable for any injury that occurs as a result.

Breach of Duty Examples

A breach of duty can be either unintentional or intentional, with malicious or criminal intent. The following are some examples of medical error and breach of duty legal claims:

• Incorrectly prescribing medication;
• Failing to note a patient’s current prescriptions or supplements;
• Prescribing the incorrect dose for a medication;
• Giving the incorrect drugs to a patient;
• Giving a patient the wrong diagnosis (misdiagnosis);
• Delaying diagnosis or failure to diagnose a medical condition;
• Misreading or ignoring lab results;
• Ordering incorrect or inadequate tests;
• Not ordering tests when it was clear they should have;
• Discharging a patient from care too soon;
• Failing to disclose the known risks of a procedure or treatment to a patient;
• Failing to obtain informed consent;
• Making serious surgical errors, such as performing surgery on the wrong part of the patient’s body or leaving surgical tools inside the body.

Remember, however, that a medical provider hasn’t necessarily violated their duty of care or committed malpractice if a bad medical outcome occurs. Rather, malpractice requires that there was a breach of duty that would not or should not have occurred under the care of a competent physician and this breach directly caused the patient injury.

Your experienced Ohio or Kentucky medical malpractice attorney will assist you in determining whether the medical personnel’s acts violated the duty of care that was owed to you.

3. Proving Breach of Duty Caused Harm

Following the establishment of a duty of care AND the breach of that duty of care, the next step in a medical malpractice suit is proving that such negligence on behalf of the health care professional directly caused you mental and/or physical harm. It can be difficult to do this because the injuries caused by the acts of the professional’s negligence must be distinguished from your existing health condition or injuries.

4. Proving an Injury Caused Losses

The final step after establishing that a breach of duty of medical care resulted in injury is to establish that the harm in question caused damages. This means the patient must have suffered specific and severe harm due to the improper (or lack of) medical treatment provided.

Medical malpractice can result in a variety of consequences, including:

• Medical expenses (including both past and future medical bills related to the injury or illness)
• Lost wages
• Lost earning capacity (future income)
• Pain and suffering
• Persistent pain
• Mental or emotional distress (loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, etc.)
• Wrongful death damages

In addition to these, punitive damages may also be awarded in especially grievous circumstances to punish the healthcare provider and hopefully prevent the same negligence in the future.