What Constitutes Medical Malpractice? Understanding the Basics

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider deviates from the accepted standard of care and harms a patient. Understanding the basics of medical malpractice can help patients know their rights and providers avoid allegations. Adam Zayed, one of the experienced medical malpractice attorneys in Chicago, shares some key statistics, common allegations, and what constitutes malpractice.

How Common are Medical Malpractice Claims?

Medical malpractice claims are relatively common in the healthcare field. Approximately one in three care providers are sued for medical malpractice at some point during their career. However, not all claims end up successful. Around 96.9% of legitimate medical malpractice claims are settled out of court before trial. This indicates that while claims are frequent, most are resolved without formal legal proceedings.

Preventable Medical Errors

Behind those claims are real instances of preventable harm. Approximately 1 in 10 patients are harmed by the healthcare system, resulting in over 3 million annual deaths globally due to unsafe care. However, over half of this harm is preventable. Medication errors account for around half of preventable harm in healthcare settings. This demonstrates the need for improved systems, procedures, and training to minimize medical errors and enhance patient safety.

Most Common Allegations in Medical Malpractice Claims

When patients do pursue malpractice claims, what are the most frequent allegations? Diagnostic errors rank at the top, accounting for about 33% of malpractice claims. This includes missed, delayed or incorrect diagnoses due to provider negligence.

Surgical errors are the second most common at 23% of claims. This category includes surgical mistakes like leaving foreign objects inside patients after surgery or operating on the wrong site. Treatment errors follow at 18% of claims. These allege inappropriate, delayed or improper treatment.

Next are obstetrics claims, which account for 10% of the total, and medication or anesthesia-related claims, which account for another 10%. Providers must be especially vigilant in these key areas to avoid preventable errors that lead to harm.

What Constitutes Medical Malpractice?

For a successful medical malpractice claim, three key elements must be present:

1. Duty of care—The healthcare provider owes a duty of care to the patient by virtue of the patient-provider relationship. This duty exists any time a provider treats a patient.
2. Breach of duty—The healthcare provider breached their duty of care by deviating from the proper standard of care. Failing to meet the appropriate standard of care expected of a reasonable healthcare professional constitutes a breach.
3. Damages – The breach directly caused harm to the patient, such as additional medical costs, lost wages, disabilities, pain, or death. Without provable damages, there is no case.

Simply making an error does not automatically equal malpractice. Medicine is complex, and providers are human. The legal standard considers this, allowing for some errors in judgment or treatment. However, patients have the right to receive compensation from medical malpractice lawyers when substandard care causes preventable harm.

Avoiding Medical Malpractice Claims

Healthcare professionals can take proactive steps to avoid allegations, such as:

• Adhering closely to practice standards and guidelines
• Communicating clearly with patients about risks, procedures and care instructions
• Documenting comprehensively
• Disclosing mistakes promptly and apologizing
• Reporting near misses and encouraging quality improvement efforts

While not every claim can be avoided, following best practices greatly reduces malpractice risk. This benefits both providers and patients.

Understanding the most frequent allegations, components of a claim, and prevention strategies helps demystify medical malpractice. With this foundation, providers can better avoid allegations while protecting patient health. Patients can better understand the basics of pursuing valid claims if truly preventable harm occurs.