Doctors, even when they weren’t wrong about a condition or treatment course, may still be at fault for causing a patient’s injuries. In medicine, doctors and other medical professionals work diligently to avoid making mistakes- be it in diagnosing a condition, performing a surgical procedure, or recommending a course of treatment for a patient. 

What happens to a doctor when they make the correct decision in treating a patient but the person still suffers an injury? The path to earning the compensation an injury victim deserves begins with developing a strategy geared towards proving the elements of a medical malpractice case. 

What Are the Four Criteria Used to Evaluate a Medical Malpractice Case?

There is a tried and true list of criteria used to determine whether an injury victim has a viable medical malpractice case:

• Duty of Care- Did the injury victim successfully argue that the medical professional who provided patient care owed a duty of care towards the patient? In most any circumstance involving a hospital or emergency room, when a doctor interacts with a patient and then directs medical care, a duty of care is created. 
• Breach of Duty- Without this element in place, a medical malpractice case has no chance of success. What happens when the doctor was not necessarily wrong about a diagnosis or course of treatment, but the patient still suffered harm? 
• Causation- An injury victim must prove a direct, causal link between the actions or inaction of the doctor and the injuries suffered by the patient. 
• Damages- Finally, once all three of the aforementioned criteria are met, a person who was injured by a doctor must present proof that they suffered damages. These damages can be economic (lost wages, medical bills, future medical bills) or non-economic (pain and suffering). 

What About a Correct Diagnosis Made Too Late?

Even when a doctor diagnoses a condition correctly or performs some portion of their duties as a medical professional in a satisfactory manner, there is still a possibility that the doctor will have been negligent in some aspect of the care provided to a patient. It does not have to be only a situation where a doctor makes a major mistake or omission where a medical malpractice claim may result. 

Consider that a major problem in emergency room settings is the sheer volume of patients who come in and out of the hospital. Hospitals must have procedures in place that allow doctors, nurses, and other medical providers to treat patients efficiently and promptly. 

The failure of a doctor to provide treatment without delay may result in a patient being injured. In this way, a correct medical diagnosis may be made too late to benefit a patient. A delayed diagnosis, for the purposes of a medical malpractice case, may as well be an incorrect diagnosis if the patient has suffered harm as a result of the delay.  

Medication and Surgery Correctly Recommended Yet Unfavorably Acted Upon

Once a doctor makes a recommendation for a patient’s care, that is only part of the battle which lies ahead. Suppose that a doctor identifies the likely cause of a patient’s rapid heartbeat. Once that problem is diagnosed, a request for medication is sent to the hospital’s pharmacy. 

Unfortunately, while the medication recommended by the doctor would have helped the patient’s condition improve, the doctor made a mistake in the dosage on the prescription. Thus, even though the doctor was not technically “wrong,” not filling out the order form correctly is an example of not doing enough for a patient. 

Likewise, a correct diagnosis is only helpful insofar as the appropriate course of treatment is chosen. A doctor may accurately assess a medical condition and still make a mistake by not informing the patient of all available treatment options. Every type of treatment carries with it certain risks and disadvantages. By not fully informing a patient of their options, a doctor may cause damages to be incurred by the patient. 

Moving Forward With Intentionality After Suffering an Injury 

Injury victims must have a plan when approaching a medical malpractice case. A mistake or omission by a doctor can forever alter the course of a patient’s life. For that patient to become a successful plaintiff, a plan must be created and set into motion. 

All four criteria in a negligence case -duty of care, breach of the duty of care, causation, and damages – must be proven for a plaintiff to be successful in their case. Collecting, preserving, and presenting all relevant evidence is difficult. As a result, speaking with an attorney who focuses their law practice on helping injury victims is a good start to creating a plan for a case. 

Damages Available For Injury Victims in Medical Malpractice Cases?

A successful medical malpractice plaintiff has a range of potential damages available to him or her: 

• Medical bills are typically the loss suffered in a medical malpractice case that injury victims focus on the most. Medical care can be costly. It does not take long for the providers, third-party bill collectors, and other entities associated with hospitals and emergency rooms to begin calling for payment. As a result, organizing and presenting these bills is a major part of the damages phase of a trial. 
• Lost wages are another key component to arguing for damages in a medical malpractice case. Depending on the scale of the harm suffered by the patient, he or she may be kept from working for an extended period. Creating an accurate log of time missed is necessary to recover lost wages at the conclusion of a case. 
• Emotional distress/suffering are more difficult to quantify but just as important as lost wages and medical bills. The fallout from undergoing a poorly performed surgery or a poorly dosed medication can lead to substantial harm – not all of it physical. 

Contact Crim Law, PLLC Today- Free Case Reviews

The attorneys with Crim Law, PLLC take seriously the responsibility of serving our clients who have been injured during hospital or emergency room stays. Contact a West Virginia medical malpractice lawyer for a free case review.