Medical malpractice


Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury to a patient.

Medical malpractice law

In common law jurisdictions, medical malpractice liability is normally based on the laws of negligence.
Although the laws of medical malpractice differ significantly between nations, as a broad general rule liability follows when a health care practitioner does not show a fair, reasonable and competent degree of skill when providing medical care to a patient. If a practitioner holds himself out as a specialist a higher degree of skill is required. Jurisdictions have also been increasingly receptive to claims based on informed consent, raised by patients who allege that they were not adequately informed of the risks of medical procedures before agreeing to treatment.
As laws vary by jurisdiction, the specific professionals who may be targeted by a medical malpractice action will vary depending upon where the action is filed. Among professionals that may be potentially liable under medical malpractice laws are,
Among the acts or omissions that may potentially support a medical malpractice claim are the failure to properly diagnose a disease or medical condition, the failure to provide appropriate treatment for a medical condition, and unreasonable delay in treating a diagnosed medical condition. In some jurisdictions a medical malpractice action may be allowed even without a mistake from the doctor, based upon principles of informed consent, where a patient was not informed of possible consequences of a course of treatment and would have declined the medical treatment had proper information been provided in advance.

United Kingdom

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom decided in 2018 that the duty of care extended to information given to patients by clerical staff of a healthcare provider, such that a medical negligence case might be predicated upon an administrative mistake. A patient at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust's emergency department suffered severe brain damage having been given misleading information by staff at reception. He was told that he would be seen by a doctor in four or five hours and left the hospital, when actually he would be seen inside 30 minutes by a triage nurse.
£1.7 billion on was spent on clinical negligence claims by the NHS in 2016/17. 36% of that was legal costs. In January 2018, NHS England announced that NHS hospitals in England would no longer provide office or advertising space for lawyers who encourage people to take the NHS to court.

Litigation

In many jurisdictions, a medical malpractice lawsuit is initiated officially by the filing and service of a summons and complaint. The parties subsequently engage in discovery," a process through which documents such as medical records are exchanged, and depositions are taken by parties involved in the lawsuit. A deposition involves the taking of statements made under oath about the case. Certain conversations are not discoverable due to issues of privilege, a legal protection against discovery, but most conversations between the parties and witnesses are discoverable.

Consequences

Consequences for patients and doctors vary by country.
A no-fault system may provide compensation to people who have medical outcomes that are significantly worse than would be anticipated under the circumstances, or where there is proof of injury resulting from medical error, without regard to whether or not malpractice occurred. Some no fault systems are restricted to specific types of injury, such as a birth injury or vaccine injury.

Demography

Medico-legal action across multiple countries is more common against male than female doctors.