You have four things to prove to win a medical malpractice suit in Virginia: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages. Clearing these legal hurdles requires strong evidence. A Virginia medical malpractice lawyer knows what to look for and can help you prove your case.
What Is Duty of Care?
The first element you must prove in a Virginia medical malpractice claim is that a doctor or other healthcare provider owed you a duty of care. All medical professionals have a duty to provide safe, competent care. You must show that there was a doctor-patient relationship or the healthcare provider was involved in your medical treatment and had a legal obligation to you, specifically. To do this, your lawyer may use evidence such as your medical records showing who signed off on your treatment.
What Are Some Examples of Duty of Care?
Everyone involved in your medical treatment owes you a duty of care, from doctors and nurses to lab technicians and other hospital staff. You may have a medical negligence claim against any or all of these parties and their employers, depending on how their actions affected your treatment and resulting injury or illness.
What Is Breach of Duty?
Breach of duty (or dereliction of duty) means someone who owed you a duty of care failed in their legal obligation. That does not mean doctors and other healthcare providers cannot make mistakes. Instead, it means they must always exercise good judgment and keep your best interests in mind. Most importantly, they must follow the appropriate standard of care. This refers to the practices and procedures a reasonable health care provider in that same specialty and geographical area would follow in similar circumstances. Expert testimony is usually required to establish the standard of care in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
What Are Some Examples of Dereliction of Duty?
Dereliction of duty comes in many forms in Virginia malpractice cases. Some common examples include:
- Failing to order necessary tests, such as bloodwork, X-rays, CT scans, or biopsies
- Misreading test results
- Providing delayed or incorrect diagnoses by not following up on concerning symptoms
- Prescribing the wrong medication or dosage for a patient
- Making surgical mistakes, such as operating on the wrong body part or leaving tools inside a patient
- Failing to monitor a patient’s condition or ignoring worsening symptoms or vital signs
- Performing procedures or prescribing medications without explaining the potential risks.
What Is Causation?
Causation is often one of the most challenging elements to prove in a Virginia medical malpractice claim. It’s not enough to show that a healthcare provider made a mistake. You must prove that their actions did not align with what another provider with similar training and experience would have done in a similar situation, which directly caused your injuries.
What Are Some Examples of Causation?
Some examples of causation in medical malpractice cases include:
- Delayed diagnoses — A delayed diagnosis can cause a patient’s symptoms to worsen or lead to additional symptoms that could have been prevented.
- Incorrect diagnoses — When doctors mistake a patient’s symptoms for the wrong condition, they may order ineffective or counterproductive treatments, worsening the patient’s situation.
- Surgical errors — Wrong-site surgeries, surgical implements left inside patients, and similar errors can cause life-threatening infections and other complications.
- Medication errors — Prescribing the wrong medication or dose can lead to dangerous, potentially fatal drug interactions. Patients given the wrong medication or dosage may also experience worse symptoms, as they are not receiving the treatment they need.
- Failure to monitor — Doctors and nurses must closely monitor a patient’s condition, particularly during and after surgery. Otherwise, they may miss warning signs of potentially fatal complications.
- Misreading X-rays or other imaging tests — X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and other imaging tests can give doctors vital information about a patient’s condition. However, doctors must interpret these tests correctly. Otherwise, they may order ineffective treatments or miss crucial warning signs of dangerous injuries or illnesses.
What Are Damages?
Proving your healthcare provider’s negligence isn’t all you need for a valid claim. You must also establish that you suffered losses because of that medical negligence. “Damages” is another word for the compensation you receive for the harm you’ve suffered. In the context of a medical malpractice claim, proving damages means showing you suffered physical, emotional, or financial injuries for which you are owed compensation.
Your damages could include compensation for:
- Medical bills — You can pursue compensation for all current and future medical expenses for your malpractice-related injury or illness, including doctor’s visits, prescription drugs, physical therapy, assistive devices, and surgical procedures.
- Lost income — You can seek compensation for the income you’ve lost because you had to miss work. You may also pursue compensation for lost future earnings if your injury or illness keeps you from working or forces you to find a new career.
- Pain and suffering — Medical malpractice injuries can cause excruciating pain. You can demand compensation for the pain you’ve suffered due to a healthcare provider’s failure to provide proper care.
- Emotional distress — Many people with medical malpractice injuries experience depression, post-traumatic stress, and other mental health effects. You can pursue compensation for the emotional harm you’ve suffered in your claim.
What Is the Statute of Limitations for a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Virginia?
Under Virginia law, you typically have two years from the date of an injury to file a personal injury lawsuit for medical negligence. However, the rules are a little different for certain medical malpractice cases. For example, in cases involving foreign objects left in your body, you must file a lawsuit within one year of when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the object. You also have additional time if a healthcare provider tries to hide their negligent or fraudulent actions. Regardless of the circumstances, you must usually file any malpractice lawsuit within 10 years of the injury.
Contact a Virginia Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Marks & Harrison has represented injured Virginians in their fight for justice since 1911. Our track record of success includes some of the largest cases in Virginia history, and our client testimonials detail the high-quality service we provide. Let our team of 30 Virginia medical malpractice attorneys and over 100 support staff manage your case while you focus on healing. Call now or complete our contact form for a free consultation.
