Medical malpractice and product liability claims are different. Yet, they can both arise from a single set of facts. In the modern era where machines and devices play an ever-increasing role in medical care, cases involving medical malpractice and product liability have increased in number and in possibility. An injured person must assess whether to bring a legal action to recover money damages in one or both of these areas of the law.
Advice from a personal injury lawyer/attorney is necessary to decide whether to pursue one or both types of claims.
Medical malpractice involves a duty of care. The duty applies to every medical services provider. It requires a minimum level of skill and attention to the treatment of a patient. Medical malpractice occurs when a failure to meet this standard causes injury to a patient.
Product liability on the other hand involves injuries that caused by the use of a product. In many cases, the product was defective – it had a flaw in the design or construction that made its use unsafe. Product liability can also result from poorly made products, mislabeled goods, or those sold without enough information for safe use.
In recent years, technology has made many changes in medical care. As a result, claims include both medical malpractice and product liability issues.
For example, a relatively new field of robotic surgery could involve an injury during surgery. A defective machine, a poorly maintained machine, or operator error can cause injury during surgery. The cause of injury could also be a negligent decision before surgery: to use robotic surgery for a procedure for which it was neither designed nor well suited- such as surgery in a too small area or confined body space. Even an excellent machine can be misused – there are situations in which the robotic device might not be well suited, or not well established as a competent medical procedure.
Responsibility for product liability injuries also involves many potential parties.
It might include the design, the manufacture, and the sale of a product. It can involve laws and regulations requiring safety standards and testing. In the case of imported goods, the responsibility might involve foreign companies and international trade regulations. A product liability case can also involve many injured persons. A specialist lawyer/attorney can bring this type of case as a class action. In recent years, many product and medical injury cases have been class actions. An injured person whose claims are affected by a class action must choose whether to join. The advice of an attorney can be extremely helpful in this choice. Many people decide that it is more advantageous to pursue and individual case.
The injured party must prove certain things in order to succeed. Medical malpractice involves a breach of a duty of care, or negligence. Evidence must establish that failure of care caused injury. Expert testimony must prove the standard of care and defendant’s failure to meet it. In a similar way, expert evidence must prove the extent of injury and future medical expenses.
Product liability on the other hand involves an injury that results from use of a product. The injured party must prove that the product was defective, negligently designed, or manufactured. They must show that the defect, substandard design, or negligent manufacture caused an injury.
Both medical malpractice and product liability cases require expert or technical evidence to establish liability. This complicated procedure requires skill to develop the crucial finding of the defendant’s fault. The advice and assistance of an experienced and qualified lawyer/ attorney is a vital factor in successful recovery of money damages. There are many defenses to liability and some can block recovery completely despite the existence of serious injury.
Generally, having both medical malpractice and product liability claims is a very good situation for an injured person.
One can pursue both particularly with the assistance and expertise of an experienced lawyer/attorney. The different claims have the added advantage of bringing in more potentially liable parties. An injured person seeks the full, fair and just amount of money damages to which he or she may be entitled under the law. To do so, the assistance of counsel and a vigorous pursuit of those who may be legally held to account are necessary.