Medical malpractice law suits can be very complicated, time-consuming and expensive. A health provider or doctor is not negligent just because a patient is injured or suffered some loss while under their care. The plaintiff, the patient or injured party, must prove several elements of his or her case before a jury will determine a doctor’s negligence.

The first element is usually easy to determine. Was this doctor responsible for the treatment of this patient? If so, the doctor had a duty of care for the plaintiff and the first element to determining negligence is met.

The second element requires the help of expert witnesses, who are often uninvolved doctors testifying on the accepted standard of care a reasonable doctor would perform in a similar situation. This testimony helps the jury to determine what a patient should expect from a doctor in the given circumstances of the plaintiff. Based on this information, which is often conflicting with each side bringing their own expert witnesses, the jury determines whether or not the doctor followed the generally accepted standard of care. If the doctor did not, then he or she may be negligent. However, there are other elements to consider before a jury would render a verdict.

The third element makes the link between the doctor’s actions or inactions and the injury to the patient. Were the injuries to the patient caused by the doctor’s failure to provide the generally accepted standard of care? Often in medical malpractice suits, the plaintiff is not a healthy person. They are suffering, or they may have already died. However, was the suffering due to the doctor’s failure or the failure of the patient’s health? For example, if a patient is diagnosed with terminal cancer and the doctor fails to save this person’s life, there is no negligence. Their must be a solid relationship between the injury to the patient and the doctor’s failure to provide commonly accepted medical care. If this can be proven, again through expert witness testimony, the doctor is likely negligent.

The final element is the determination of damages. This can be medical expenses, lost wages, and even compensation for pain and suffering. Without damages, there is no case for medical malpractice.

The plaintiff must prove each of the elements by a preponderance of the evidence, the generally accepted standard of proof in civil law cases. If a jury comes to this conclusion they would enter a verdict determining the doctor’s negligence.

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