Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional, such as a doctor or nurse fails to provide the appropriate standard of care for a patient resulting in harm or injury to them. Medical errors such as medication mistakes, wrong diagnoses, and surgical errors commonly amount to medical malpractice leaving medical and healthcare professionals exposed to potential claims against them.
The consequences of medical malpractice can be severe for patients, often leaving them with a worsening of their condition, in chronic pain, or permanently disabled. In the some cases, it can even result in death. According to figures from a Johns Hopkins study, as many as 10% of all deaths in the United States are now due to medical error.
In this article, we will discuss the importance of evidence in medical malpractice claims and look at some of the key pieces of evidence individuals should gather to support their claims.
The Importance of Evidence
Evidence plays a vital part in medical malpractice claims and is often the foundation upon which a claim rests. Without sufficient evidence to demonstrate negligence on the part of the medical provider, it is unlikely that a claim for medical malpractice will succeed.
In such cases, evidence can bring clarity to technical or complex matters surrounding the claimant’s case and help in benchmarking the amount of compensation they may be entitled to. The stronger and more credible the evidence is in substantiating the claims being made, the more likely the medical malpractice claim is to succeed. If you have suffered an injury due to substandard medical care, experienced medical malpractice attorneys like Garland, Samuel & Loeb can help you with your claim.
Types of Evidence
The following types of evidence can help claimants prove that a medical or healthcare professional was negligent in their duties, helping them build a strong case for medical malpractice.
- Medical records: Medical records can help to establish the timeline of events, demonstrating when the claimant’s symptoms began or their injuries appeared, thereby indicating probable cause. This can be vital for establishing liability in medical malpractice cases. Medical records can also rule out potential defenses such as the worsening of pre-existing health conditions as they can help to differentiate between such injuries or conditions and those that could have resulted directly from medical errors.
- Expert testimony: Medical malpractice cases often involve complex medical terminology and intricate procedures that require analysis and interpretation by medical experts. In doing so, the testimony of medical experts can serve as valuable evidence demonstrating whether a medical professional failed to deliver the appropriate standard of care required of them, and resulting in the injuries suffered by the claimant.
- Visual documentation: Videos and photographs can provide compelling evidence in medical malpractice cases. For example, visual evidence of surgical procedures being performed on the claimant can help establish whether the doctor fell short of the standard of care expected, causing the claimant’s injuries. Photographic evidence of injuries or health conditions developing shortly after a claimant was given medication or was wrongly diagnosed can also act as powerful evidence in these cases.
Gathering sufficient evidence can help claimants build a robust medical malpractice claim.
