Establishing Causation in Medical Malpractice
One of the most difficult and complex areas of the law to understand is medical malpractice. Medical malpractice cases bring a unique set of challenges and issues that requires a certain level of expertise – expertise that’s higher than what’s necessary for a normal personal injury matter. Medical malpractice often involves multiple parties and mounds of evidence. The hardest part of the medical malpractice case is establishing what’s known as causation.
What is Causation?
In the legal industry, causation is a fancy term to describe the connection or relationship between an action and the end result of that action. If you think about it in an easier manner, you can see that causation is simply cause and effect.
Florida Supreme Court on Causation
In order to prevail in a medical malpractice case, the patient must prove that the medical professional’s action resulted in injury or harm to the patient. According to a Florida Supreme Court Opinion, the law does not require the action to be the primary cause of the injury in order for the action to be the direct cause. The action only needs to be a substantial or considerable cause of the injury.
The medical professional’s action should fall below the standard of care. Meaning, the action must be the failure to adhere to the standard level of care while treating a patient. The standard level of care refers to the level of care that an average medical professional, in the same field of medicine, would supply under similar circumstances.
In addition to proving causation, the standard of care and the breach of the standard of care are two other elements that must be met to prevail on a medical malpractice case. If any of these elements are missing, the case fails.
Ways to Establish Causation
Establishing causation is not an easy process. It’s quite a lengthy one. However, with the help of a qualified Miami medical malpractice attorney, you can establish causation with these documents:
- Medical records
- Medical bills
- Photographs
- Statements
- Videos
- Witness testimony
- Expert medical testimony
- Calendars and timelines
- Diaries and journals
- The medical professional’s credentials
- Prescription records
- Consent forms
- Deposition testimony
As a rule of thumb, expert testimony is crucial to establishing causation in a medical malpractice case. The expert testimony can be used to show that had the doctor performed reasonably, the outcome would have been different, meaning the patient would not have the injuries.
Contact a Miami Medical Malpractice Lawyer to Help You Establish Causation For Your Case
Medical malpractice cases are lengthy, expensive and should not be handled without the expertise of a lawyer. The lawyer knows and understands the laws surrounding medical malpractice and will work in your best interest at all times. Contact a reputable Miami personal injury attorney with Spencer Morgan Law to help you build your medical malpractice case in Miami and establish the element of causation. Contact Spencer Morgan Law at 305-423-3800 to schedule your free consultation with an attorney. There’s no fees or costs if we don’t recover for you.
https://www.smorganlaw.com/patient-rights-and-medical-malpractice/