Doctors want to give their patients the best care possible, but there are times when issues may occur that lead to patient harm. This can lead the patient to file a medical malpractice claim, which is something that can derail a doctor’s career.
One of the most important things to do if you’re a doctor facing a medical malpractice claim is to explore the defense options that you have available. One of these might be showing that the care you provided met the standard of care.
Importance and challenges of standard of care
The standard of care is important in these cases because doctors are always to provide care that at least meets that standard. The challenge with this is that the standard isn’t always the same. Instead, it depends on several factors, such as the doctor’s training, the tools available to them and the information provided by the patient and medical records. This means that a family practitioner at a rural clinic would have a lower standard of care regarding a patient with a brain tumor than a neurologist at a cutting-edge medical facility.
One of the best options for showing that the standard of care was met in a case is to have a medical expert to testify about the facts of the case. Ideally, this will be someone that you don’t know, so there can’t be any claims of bias.
Because of the complexities of these cases, it’s a good idea to work with someone who’s familiar with these matters so they can assist you with building the defense strategy that’s in your best interests. This is best done as soon as you realize that you’re facing a claim against you.
