8 Strategies a Doctor Will Use to Defend Themselves Following Negligence
Complex medical research, technology, standards of care, and risk assessment issues frequently arise in malpractice lawsuits. To properly assess and pursue medical malpractice claims, attorneys must have a firm grasp of anatomy, fundamental medical science, and professional medical practice norms. You need to hire an expert medical malpractice attorney to recover your losses and punish the negligent doctor who caused you losses.
Absence of Causation
Causation, the link between the doctor’s conduct and the patient’s outcome, is essential to winning a medical negligence case. This defense is often used when someone is accused of making a mistake about a diagnosis. Evidence of the absence of causation may be used as a defense if it is shown that the patient’s death would have occurred even if the doctor had made an accurate diagnosis and administered the appropriate treatment.
Foresee-ability
A doctor must shield patients from obvious or known dangers. In this case, the doctor may argue that the harm was an unintended side effect of treatment. For instance, a patient is severely hurt because of a drug their doctor prescribed. The doctor will claim that it was unreasonable to expect to have to deal with such a small number of patients experiencing adverse effects.
Standard Negligence Defenses
Ordinary negligence is one of the most frequently used defenses against medical malpractice. Medical professionals may assert that their treatment was appropriate under the circumstances or that the patient’s harm was not the product of medical negligence if they are accused of malpractice.
Contributory Negligence
To use a legal term, “contributory negligence defenses,” attempt to shift the blame for a patient’s harm from the defendant’s actions to another party. Proof that the patient’s injury was not the result of the defendant’s negligence is required for this defense.
Assumed Risk
Risks that are generally accepted in the medical community are not the doctor’s responsibility if they are explained to the patient and the patient decides to assume them. The physician will argue that the specific harm suffered by the patient was an expected consequence of the procedure and that the patient knew these consequences.
Good Samaritan Laws
Several states have passed “Good Samaritan Laws” to shield those responding to medical emergencies without being called. Because of these safeguards, off-duty doctors who stop to help after an accident are usually not held accountable for injuries caused during rescue operations.
Respectable Minority Principle
It is common for a doctor to conclude that an out-of-the-ordinary procedure is required to treat a patient properly. It’s possible that this is an unusual form of treatment and that it could do harm. However, despite the hazards, the physician can demonstrate that a subset of qualified healthcare professionals endorses this treatment option.
Statute of Limitations
There is a statute of limitations during which a patient can initiate legal action against a healthcare professional. Statutes of limitations are the laws that govern these time limits, which are different in every state.
The case may be dismissed if the healthcare practitioner can prove that the patient learned of the harm after the applicable statute of limitations.
Getting Help
The other side in a lawsuit will likely hire an attorney to defend themselves. An attorney representing the doctor will make a great effort to win the case.
It is best to work with an expert injury law attorney to understand your legal options, including any defenses to a negligence lawsuit.
