Medical Malpractice Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Medical Malpractice - Research Paper Example An understanding of the causes/dimensions, effects and liabilities of medical malpractice can help one to avoid such professional negligence and malpractice lawsuits. Medical malpractice and its characteristics Current trends and statistics relating to medical malpractice Within the past six centuries, medical malpractice has increased drastically. According to statistics, there were a total of 2696 serious cases of malpractice in the United States in 1999 alone (Medical Malpractice par 1). The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences states that about 98000 patients risk losing their lives in various hospitals in the US due to medical malpractices (Medical Malpractice par 1). In today’s society, a doctor’s responsibility is to provide affordable care, talent and reasonable judgment in the course of duty. Whenever patients are given wrongly diagnosed, mal-treated or die due to what is perceived to be medical malpractice, the doctors normally are subject ed to a lot of suffering without appreciating their efforts or whatever good they may have done before to save lives. This situation also makes fellow doctor fear performing certain risky procedures for fear of going through similar or worse experiences. Potential doctors are also discouraged from joining the medical profession when they witness such situations. Characteristics of Negligence Malpractice is negligence. Cases of negligence fall under the description of torts. A tort may be a common offence, thus malpractice could be a common offence. In the simplest terms, there are four essential elements of malpractice which include duty, breach, damage and (direct) causal affiliation. Each healthcare supplier assumes a duty when beginning diagnosis, consultations, or treatment of a patient. The duty or responsibility emanates from an implied or expressed contract. Another important element of medical malpractice is breach. If one fails to create an accurate diagnosis once he or she has assumed the duty to try and do so, one might commit a breach of responsibility. Thirdly, causal affiliation which states that damage is caused by a failure to properly diagnose the breach responsibility. Damage is the outcome of a failure to diagnose properly. Medical malpractice occurs when a patient sustains injuries or complications that may or may not be of a permanent and continuing nature due to negligence (Pozgar 558). Negligence is among the most typical civil suit filed against doctors. Legal responsibility for negligence cannot be found unless the following subsequent elements are present: One, the defendant should owe an obligation to the plaintiff to practice care. Two, the defendant should breach the quality of care stipulated by law for his/her behavior. Thirdly, the plaintiff should suffer loss or damage as a result of this breach. Lastly, the behavior of the defendant should be the near cause of the plaintiff’s injury or damage ((Pozgar 65). Cases related to medical malpractice In the case of Adderly v. Bremner it was noted that the defendant medical doctor was careless in not altering the syringes to vaccinate thirty eight patients and as an alternative used one needle for more than one patient (Pozgar 76). As a result, the plaintiff experienced blood poisoning. The doctor in this case did not provide the specified correct care. Any sensible doctor would have actually