A Trusted Medical Malpractice Attorney Shares the Challenges of a Case
You’ve probably heard that the top two causes of death in the country are heart disease and cancer, respectively. But can you guess what the third leading cause is?
If you guessed diabetes or stroke, you’d better guess again. In fact, it isn’t even a disease. Rather, it’s what medical doctors do–or fail to do–when treating patients that ranks as the third most common cause of mortality in the country.
Medical malpractice kills more people than car accidents. In fact, there are so many cases of medical malpractice that the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) estimates that about $3 billion in payouts were released in 2012 alone at a rate of about one every 43 minutes.
Given the prevalence and size of these payouts, it’s easy to assume that winning a medical malpractice suit is a walk in the park, a cut-and-dry case so to speak. In reality, though, for every success story that appears in the news, there are hundreds if not thousands of cases that are tried and lost.
What makes it so hard to win such a lawsuit? According to a leading Oklahoma medical malpractice attorney, below are just some of the obstacles.
Proving Negligence
The first hurdle is proving that the doctor deviated from the standard of care expected of him. However, the only evidence against the doctor are his own notes, which he is unlikely to write in a way that indicts him.
Complications to Medical Care
A doctor may argue that a patient’s injuries are the result of complications, something that not even the most experienced medical practitioner could have foreseen. For instance, an otherwise simple outpatient procedure may be perfectly harmless for one patient but injurious to another because no two individuals always respond to the same medical procedure the same way.
Doctors Have Benefit of the Doubt
You would think that a jury is more likely to sympathize with a medical malpractice victim, but more often than not they side with the doctor. Why? Most jury members think that since medicine is a complex field, a doctor can only try his best to diagnose or treat a patient; despite the doctor’s best efforts, not all outcomes will always be good. So unless there is gross misconduct (i.e., leaving a sponge in a patient’s thorax), the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff.
If you think your doctor has provided substandard care, don’t hesitate to contact an experienced Oklahoma City personal injury lawyer who is adept at handling medical malpractice cases. With such help, you stand a better chance to prove negligence on the doctor’s part and receive the recompense you deserve.
For more information contact one of our highly qualified Attorneys in the Oklahoma City area call (405) 253-4478 or our main office in Ardmore (580) 798-0447.
Sources:
10 Things You Want To Know About Medical Malpractice, forbes.com
The Challenges in Winning a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit, alllaw.com