Medical Negligence Case Flashcards
What are the elements that must be proven in a medical negligence case?
(BIPD)
There are four elements involved in a medical negligence case, name:
(1) Duty. In treating a patient, a physician is in a duty to the patient to exercise that degree of care, skill, and diligence which physicians in the same general neighborhood and in the same general line of practice ordinarily possess and exercise in like cases.
(2) Breach. There is breach of duty of care, skill, and diligence, when the physician fails to comply with professional standards.
(3) Injury. If injury results to the patient as a result of this breach, the physician is answerable for negligence.
(4) Proximate Causation. The critical and clinching factor in a medical negligence case is proof of the causal connection between the negligence which the evidence established and the plaintiff’s injuries; the plaintiff must plead and prove not only that he had been injured and defendant has been at fault, but also that the defendant’s fault caused the injury. A verdict in a malpractice action cannot be based on speculation or conjecture. Causation must be proven within a reasonable medical probability based upon competent expert testimony.
