Medical malpractice attorneys have found that negligence may be the most important form of any tort liability in our jurisprudence today. This is in part due to the flexible principles of negligence that enable liability to be applied to many types of conduct that cause accidental harm. The main difference between negligence and all other forms of torts (i.e. assault and battery) is that negligence is not concerned with the state of mind of the person who committed or neglected to commit the act. The main thing that is looked at by lawyers, and judges who oversee cases, is the conduct of a defendant (such as a doctor or nurse) and whether they should have known of the risks that were possible.
The Four Elements of Negligence
The four elements of negligence, which are frequently referred to in medical malpractice cases, include duty, breach of duty, causation, and damage. In a medical malpractice framework, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers owe their clients a duty to live up to the relevant standard of care. A doctor who does something that is not in accord with the standard of care, or similarly, fails to do something that they should have, may breach their duty to the patient. Third, a plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit must show that because the doctor breached his duty of care that was owed to the plaintiff, the incident occurred. This is frequently referred to as causation. Had a doctor done or not done something, the patient would not have been harmed. Finally, to prove a negligence lawsuit, it is essential for a patient to prove that there were damages. It is not enough to show that the doctor did not live up to the standard of care if there were no ill effects from the incident. Once a plaintiff has shown these four elements of negligence, it is likely that they will prevail in a malpractice suit.
Medical Malpractice Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia
If you or a family member have recently been the victim of medical negligence, it is possible that you would like to speak with our professionals. Please contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.