We've all had to visit the hospital or receive medical care at some point in our lives, whether it was for ourselves or a loved one. You should not have to worry about receiving unfair treatment when seeking medical care. One of the main reasons you should not have to worry about unfair treatment when seeking medical assistance is The Hippocratic Oath. The Hippocratic Oath includes the ideas of medical confidentiality and non-maleficence, which doctors swear to enforce in order to uphold their duty to the health and wellbeing of others. The oath is deeply ingrained in the medical industry and in many states, the Hippocratic Oath is protected by law; as a result, breaking the oath may have legal repercussions that go beyond its symbolic significance.
Unfortunately, while swearing allegiance to The Hippocratic Oath, medical professionals nonetheless engage in malpractice every day. Medical errors in the US were thoroughly examined by Johns Hopkins researchers in 2016. During their research, they discovered that in just the US, medical mistakes result in 250,000 fatalities annually. This frightening statistic allows far too many patients and their families to suffer unjustified suffering or even wrongful deaths at the hands of people who have the ability to save lives. A higher degree of accountability for the work that our medical personnel performs in terms of both services and care should be required given this startling figure.
Q: Is there a person I can sue for medical malpractice?
A: Anyone who committed malpractice is subject to lawsuits. The patient may potentially bring a claim against the hospital or other organization whose employees engaged in the malpractice.
Q: What is the maximum period of time for bringing a medical malpractice claim?
A: Depending on the state, the statute of limitations for claims of medical malpractice might range from one to four years. Use this guide to locate the state you're looking for.
Q: What do damage caps mean, and why are they in place?
A: The amount of non-economic damages that can be awarded in a given case is capped by laws referred to as "damages caps." Damage caps limit the responsibility of service providers in an effort to reduce the high expenses of doing business (which are ultimately passed on to the consumer).
Q: What specifically does the term "established customary standard of care" mean?
A: It enables all patients with comparable symptoms and diseases to receive treatment from experienced specialists who are available.
Q: How do I gather evidence to support a medical malpractice claim?
A: The majority of the time, you won't be able to compile the proof necessary to prove carelessness in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Most likely, your lawyer will have more access to your medical records than you have.
When a healthcare facility, physician, or other medical professional disregards patient care, it is known as medical malpractice. Misdiagnosis, drug delivery, health management, counseling, and follow-up treatment are a few instances of medical malpractice.
The following elements must be present for the claim to be legally classified as medical malpractice:
Failure to obtain blood type
Jesica Santillan, then 17 years old, underwent a heart and lung transplant at Duke University Hospital without ever verifying whether the blood types of the organ donors matched.
Jesica suffered serious brain damage as a result of the organ transplant, and her body shut down from shock. Only later did the medical professionals learn that Jessica's organ donor did not have the same blood type as her.
After attempting to conceal the mistake for 11 days and ultimately needing to start hunting for a new donor, Duke University Hospital admitted its mistake. Unfortunately, Jesica had already sustained significant brain damage.
Wrong Leg Amputation
In 1995, Willie King, 52, was going to have a diseased leg amputated. In spite of the fact that the proper location was noted, the doctor amputated the wrong leg. After the surgery, when the doctor recognized what had happened, his explanation was that both legs were compromised and would eventually need to be amputated. The physician merely faced a $10,000 fine and had his medical license suspended for six months. The lawsuit against the hospital and the surgeon were settled for $1.15 million.
Surgical instrument left
Donald Church underwent surgery to remove an abdominal tumor at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. The surgery was a success and the tumor was effectively removed by the surgeons without any complications. However, after the procedure was over, the surgical team failed to take out the 13-inch metal retractor used during the procedure.
Mr. Church suffered in agony for two months before the surgical error was discovered and finally treated. In the end, Mr. Church was awarded $97,000 in damages.
If you intend to bring a medical malpractice claim against a doctor or another healthcare professional, there may be some steps you need to take. Since medical malpractice cases are inherently complex, the average person lacks the skills, resources, or experience required to successfully resolve their own claim.
If you choose to work with a lawyer, you may anticipate them to do the following tasks at each stage:
The majority of individuals believe that medical malpractice happens when a doctor doesn't offer the right care or services. Contrary to popular assumptions, it can also happen when a nurse transgresses professional standards and hurts a patient. A doctor or a nurse could face legal action for malpractice in various ways. In order to establish both the level of care that a competent nurse would have given and the reason why they were harmed, the patient will probably demand expert testimony. Instead of a doctor or another medical expert, the expert may need to be a nurse who practices in the same area of medicine as the defendant. In rare cases, such as when a nurse disobeys a doctor's directions and administers the incorrect medicine, the negligent behavior may be so clear that an expert witness is not necessary.
Nursing misconduct is not necessarily demonstrated by results that are unsatisfactory. Regular misconduct happens in a variety of contexts. One of the simplest is when a nurse administers the incorrect medication or forgets to administer the patient's medication as directed by a doctor. Another example would be a nurse misidentifying two patients and administering the incorrect medication to each of them. Additionally, they might provide the medication to the patient in the incorrect amount or by injecting it in the wrong spot.
Another blatant form of nursing malpractice is the improper or misuse of medical equipment. A more dangerous instance would be a nurse dropping a large piece of equipment on a patient or forgetting to remove equipment from a patient's body after surgery. Because several medical personnel may be engaged in the process, the patient's attorney may occasionally need to conduct an investigation to identify whether the nurse or the supervising doctor was accountable for a specific error made during surgery.
When a nurse ignores an emergency that they can or should see, it is more discreetly negligent nursing. The prescribed emergency handling protocols of the hospital or doctor must be followed. (If there are no protocols in place, the hospital or clinician could be accused of malpractice.) However, a nurse is required to keep a careful eye on a patient's status and alert the doctor to any issues.
Although medical malpractice statutes of limitations vary from state to state, they are often limited. In some states, you might only have a year to submit your claim. The majority of states have established three- or four-part statutes of limitations for instances involving medical negligence, including the Standard Deadline, the Discovery Rule, the Statute of Limitations for Minor Children, and the Statute of Repose. The components listed add to the complexity of medical malpractice statutes of limitations.
The Standard Deadline is the first part of the statute of limitations, which gives victims of medical malpractice a predetermined amount of time after the malpractice occurs in order to submit a complaint; typically, the window of time ranges from two to six years, depending on the state.
The discovery rule excludes the standard deadline. States created the discovery rule as a result of the large number of medical malpractice victims who were unable to file lawsuits because they discovered their claim many years after the usual statute of limitations had passed.
The minors' deadline is the third category of the statute of limitations. This was put into place to help a child if the parents decided not to pursue a claim when the child was a minor, which allows the minor two years after becoming eighteen to submit a claim.
Any law that forbids filing a lawsuit when a defendant exhibits a specific behavior, even if the plaintiff hasn't yet been harmed. A statute of repose, as opposed to a statute of limitations, is frequently more favorable to defendants because the time period starts to run from the date of the defendant's activity, even if the injury has not yet occurred.
You must first acknowledge that "standard of care" is a legal, not a medical, term. As a result, lawyers use it more frequently than doctors. Doctors often only talk about or take into account the standard of care when they are testifying in court over incidents of medical negligence or when they are attending seminars on the subject.
In medicine, the phrase "standard of care" has varying meanings depending on the state, but generally speaking, it refers to the consideration and expertise that a normal clinician would provide to a patient in their field of expertise.
Other medical practitioners, such as obstetricians, gynecologists, cardiologists, and orthopedists, who focus on specific medical specialties, are frequently held to a national standard of care.
The first requirement for proving medical malpractice against a doctor has been met if the harmed patient can demonstrate through credible expert testimony that the practitioner engaged in a practice of medical negligence. The injured person must, however, be able to demonstrate how the doctor's negligence led to specific losses or harms.
Damage caps, according to Findlaw, are regulations that limit the sum of non-economic damages that may be awarded in a lawsuit. The purpose of damage caps is to help the economy. Damage caps prevent excessive awards that would bankrupt defendants like hospitals and the government. Additionally, it helps to deter false accusations made against businesses.
When a doctor, surgeon, nurse, dentist, or other health care provider violates their legal duty of care by providing services that are subpar or inferior to the industry standard of care, the patient is frequently the one who suffers.
The amount of compensation that a victim of medical malpractice may get has been limited in some states. According to recent studies, these damage caps hinder everyone's access to high-quality healthcare by arbitrarily limiting the complete and equitable financial recompense of harmed patients and their loved ones.
Reducing compensation for medical malpractice has the following implications, according to recent reports:
As the demand for healthcare cybersecurity readiness grows, legislators are taking notice. According to industry predictions, 679 hospitals suffered cyberattacks in 2021, a record number for the sector. The US Department of Health and Human Services has since issued a notice that those numbers may increase. Recent malware attacks may even have heralded the beginning of a new age in which healthcare delivery organizations (HDOs) and device makers may be held accountable for not only lost data but also patient harm for failing to adhere to best practices and take precautions against known risks.
Example of Medical Malware Malpractice
Teiranni Kidd underwent a cesarean section at Springhill Medical Center in Mobile, Alabama, in 2019. Sadly, the baby's delivery problems caused major brain damage, and two months later, the baby passed away as a result of continued complications.
After her baby passed away, Kidd learned that the hospital's computer systems had been targeted by malware while she was there, leading to their computer systems breakdown, which perhaps endangered patient care. During this time, the medical personnel at Springhill hospital was unable to perform tests that would have potentially discovered the baby's ailment and stopped further harm. Kidd might have chosen to be transferred to a different hospital if she had known this information earlier, hopefully preventing the baby's eventual death.
Not long after, in 2021, during the ongoing Kidd v. Springhill litigation, a flaw in the free-source Apache application known as Log4j was discovered, leaving institutions open to assault. After carefully analyzing the situation, many equipment and technology manufacturers found no possible threats. Sadly, in 2019 this was not the case for Kidd.
Unfortunately, no business will ever be completely safe from cyberattacks, but those that are known to be frequently targeted, such as schools, hospitals, and government institutions, should invest in the tools that will enable them to more accurately assess their risks, defend themselves from attacks, and act quickly when attacks do occur. This will help the hospital in the scenario of Kidd v. Springhill to uphold its sacred duty to "do no harm," better safeguarding both themselves and their patients.
Works Cited
Goguen, David. “Medical Malpractice State Laws: Statutes of Limitations.” AllLaw, https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/medical-malpractice/state-laws-statutes-limitations.html.
Jahn, Warren T. “The 4 basic ethical principles that apply to forensic activities are respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice.” NCBI, 27 August 2011, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4863255/.
Smith, Wesley D. “Hippocratic oath | Definition, Summary, & Facts | Britannica.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 July 2022, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hippocratic-oath..
“Study Suggests Medical Errors Now Third Leading Cause of Death in the U.S. - 05/03/2016.” Johns Hopkins Medicine, 3 May 2016, https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/study_suggests_medical_errors_now_third_leading_cause_of_death_in_the_us.
“What is a Damages Cap?” FindLaw, 29 November 2018, https://www.findlaw.com/injury/accident-injury-law/what-is-a-damages-cap.html. Landi, Heather. “Healthcare data breaches hit all-time high in 2021, impacting 45M people.” Fierce Healthcare, https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/health-tech/healthcare-data-breaches-hit-all-time-high-2021-impacting-45m-people.
