Medical malpractice cases are not like general negligence lawsuits, such as car accidents or slip and fall cases. Medical malpractice cases are subject to a “professional” standard that is different from the duty of ordinary care that the public is expected to operate under.

Instead of determining whether or not an outcome was avoidable with ordinary care, the litmus considers the prevailing standard of professional care for the industry of medicine as a whole or special care for certain subspecialties like oncology or psychiatric medicine. In other words, the standard of care is different for every specialty.

What is meant by standard of care?

In healthcare, the “standard of care” refers to the level of treatment and skill that a reasonably prudent healthcare professional in the same field would provide under similar circumstances. It’s a benchmark used to assess whether a provider’s actions were appropriate and met the expected level of care for a particular condition or situation.

It’s important to note that this standard is not fixed, meaning it evolves with advances in medical knowledge and technology.

While it serves as a legal yardstick in malpractice cases, its core purpose is to guide healthcare professionals in delivering safe and effective care that aligns with current medical best practices, ensuring patients receive the most appropriate treatment available.

Who has the lowest standard of care in the medical field?

The lowest standard of care for the medical field goes to EMTs and ER doctors. These professionals are often required to make split-second decisions in high-pressure situations where time is critical, and they may not have the opportunity to conduct extensive diagnostic tests.

While their decisions may not always lead to successful outcomes, such as in cases where a patient’s condition worsens or results in death, this does not automatically imply negligence or wrongdoing. Although ER errors can occur, the unique demands of emergency medicine are considered when evaluating whether the standard of care was met.

EMTs often face the least amount of scrutiny when it comes to standard of care because their job is simply to stabilize a patient long enough to get them to the hospital. In most cases, EMTs who make an honest effort to save a patient’s life will not be found negligent. Most lawsuits against EMTs are for intentional misconduct as opposed to professional negligence.

Who has the highest standard of care in medicine?

Long-term care doctors tend to have higher standards of care because they (ostensibly) have time to test, diagnose, and treat. General practitioners also have a high standard of care due in large part to the fact that they’re expected to see patients semi-regularly.

Both of these specialties generally have enough time to make well-rationed decisions and act accordingly.

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Where do the majority of medical mistakes happen?

Surgical malpractice and diagnostic errors make up the majority of medical malpractice cases.

Surgical mistakes

Surgeons conducting new or experimental surgeries using cutting-edge technology tend to lose more patients than those who perform routine surgeries. While not all surgical mistakes constitute medical malpractice, many of them do when the mistake is not corrected or accounted for during the surgery.

When determining whether or not a mistake is actionable, the law looks at the prevailing standard of care for the surgery. If there is significant data on outcomes of similar surgeries, then the chances are good that the doctor can be sued when a mistake is made.

With newer or experimental surgeries, there is less evidence of the prevailing standard of care, so the matter becomes a bit trickier (and easier for the doctor to defend).

Misdiagnosis

Diagnostic errors also account for a large portion of medical malpractice cases because timely and accurate diagnosis is critical for effective treatment. When a healthcare provider fails to correctly diagnose a condition or delays the diagnosis, it can lead to worsening of the patient’s condition, improper treatment or medication, and even wrongful death. This is especially true in cases involving cancer misdiagnosis.

Misdiagnoses often occur when doctors have limited time or in cases where symptoms are vague, diseases are rare, or tests are misinterpreted.

Proving a doctor failed in standard of care after a misdiagnosis can be challenging and depends on the specifics of a patient’s case. It requires demonstrating that the doctor’s diagnostic process deviated from accepted medical practices and that a reasonably competent doctor in the same field would have correctly identified the condition under similar circumstances.

How do you prove a healthcare provider failed to provide the appropriate standard of care?

To prove that a healthcare provider failed to meet the appropriate standard of care, patients will need to do the following with the help of their attorneys:

Establish a doctor-patient relationship. It must be shown that a formal relationship existed between the patient and the healthcare provider, meaning the provider had a duty to care for the patient.
Define the standard of care. An expert witness, often another healthcare professional, is usually needed to explain what the accepted standard of care is for the specific medical situation, based on what a reasonably competent provider in the same field would have done.
Show a breach of the standard of care. Evidence must be provided that the healthcare provider’s actions (or inactions) fell below the accepted standard of care. This could include errors in diagnosis or treatment or a failure to act when appropriate.
Show causation. It must be proven that the healthcare provider’s breach of the standard of care directly caused harm or injury to the patient. This is often the most challenging aspect, as it requires showing a clear link between the provider’s negligence and the harm suffered.
Show damages. The patient must have suffered measurable harm as a result of the provider’s negligence, such as physical injury, emotional suffering, additional medical bills, or loss of income.

By establishing these elements with the help of medical experts, legal counsel can build a case to prove a healthcare provider’s failure to meet the standard of care.

Concerned that your doctor didn’t meet the necessary standard of care?

If you suspect that you’ve been injured or lost a loved one due to a doctor’s mistake, you can have the matter reviewed by the experienced Tampa medical malpractice attorneys at Palmer Lopez. The reality is that it’s nearly impossible for patients and other non-medical people to know if a healthcare provider failed to provide the appropriate standard of care.

At Palmer Lopez, we can thoroughly investigate your case, help you obtain expert medical opinions, and build a strong case to prove that medical negligence occurred. We offer free consultations, so you can discuss your questions and concerns with us without any upfront costs.