Patients sometimes assume that medical professionals are held to a nearly impossible standard. These patients always want there to be a positive outcome to the case. If there is a poor outcome, they may assume that this means the doctor made a mistake and that it is an example of medical malpractice.
For instance, say that a man has a heart attack and is taken in for emergency heart surgery. The surgeon is unable to save his life and the team has to inform the family that the man has passed away. That family then says that they are going to sue because they trusted the doctors to save the man’s life and the doctors failed to do so.
But medical malpractice does not hinge on the outcome of the case. Instead, it is based on whether or not the doctor was negligent. Just because there was a poor outcome doesn’t mean that negligence was part of the equation in any way.
The standard of care
With medical malpractice cases, one key factor is the standard of care that a patient should expect. That’s what they deserve to get when they go to a medical institution.
That doesn’t mean the doctors have to be perfect. Perhaps the surgeon adhered to the expected standard of care, but the man’s condition was simply too serious. He would have passed away at any medical center in the country. Unless the family can show that the doctor was negligent (deviated from the standard of care) or made easily avoidable errors, they can’t claim malpractice just because the patient didn’t survive.
Medical malpractice cases can get very complex and may be emotional, so doctors who are facing these accusations need to know what defense options they have.
