What Is Medical Malpractice?

New Orleans Medical Malpractice Cases Lawyer

When a patient is injured in Louisiana due to the error of a medical professional such as a doctor or nurse, the patient may be able to recover monetary damages.  The statistics for medical malpractice in the US is surprising. The patient must prove the following elements in order to succeed in a medical malpractice lawsuit:

Doctor/Patient Relationship:  In order to prevail in a medical malpractice lawsuit, an individual must prove that they had a doctor/patient relationship with the doctor that committed the medical error.  The patient must have hired the doctor and the doctor must have agreed to work for the patient.

Duty of Care:  Medical professionals are required to perform up to the accepted standard of the medical community.  Generally speaking, medical professionals have a legal obligation to their patients to act in the same manner that another medical professional in the same field and situation would in a given situation.

Breach of Duty:  In order for a medical professional to have been negligent, he/she must have violated (breached) the duty of care to their patient.  In other words, the medical professional must have failed to act how another medical professional would acted in a given situation.

Causation: In addition to negligence, a patient must also prove that a medical professional’s breach of duty was the proximate cause of his/her injury.  Patients must use evidence such as documents and testimony to show a causal relationship between the doctor’s negligence and his/her injury.

Damages:  The injury caused by a medical professional’s negligence must have caused the patient to suffer damages.  In other words, the medical professional cannot be held liable unless the injured patient incurred damages such as additional medical expenses, lost wages, and/or pain and suffering.

If you or a loved one have been a victim of medical malpractice, learn about your legal rights from an experienced Louisiana medical malpractice lawyer by calling 504-581-4892 or by filling out our free, no obligation case review form.