Causation is necessary to establish a case for medical malpractice. An attorney needs to show the defendant:
- Had a duty to the plaintiff
- The doctor failed to meet the standard of care owed the patient
- The doctor’s action cause the injury in question
The Charleston medical malpractice lawyers at the Clore Law Group help victims of medical malpractice who are unaware of the standard of care required of doctors until they have suffered medical malpractice.
Preponderance of the Evidence in Causation
Your medical malpractice attorney will need to show that the doctor caused the injury by a preponderance of the evidence. It may be difficult to show that the defendant is responsible for an injury if it might ordinarily be the expected result of the original disease or condition. Skilled medical malpractice lawyers understand the complexity of this stage of a medical malpractice law suit.
Types of Causation
There are two types of causation: actual cause (cause-in-fact) and proximate cause. Actual cause is when the defendant’s action directly caused the injury. Proximate cause deals with negligent actions so closely related to the injury that it can be deemed legal cause of the plaintiff’s injury.
Defense lawyers will often try to show other causes for the injury, like pre-existing conditions. They also attempt to show that the plaintiff’s negligence caused their own injury. Doctors may even resort to stating that their negligent action would not have affected the inevitable injury. When all else fails, the defense will claim “superseding cause” or “intervening cause,” shifting fault to a third party.
Expert Testimony in Proving Causation
Expert testimony will be needed to speak to the specific medical standard and causation. Both sides will produce expert testimony, and it may come to pass that this testimony becomes a deciding factor. There are some claims where the experts are not needed, but it is to be expected in cases with high financial damages.
Issues of causation can be some of the most difficult issues to prove in a medical malpractice case. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer at The Clore Law Group LLC in Charleston, South Carolina, can gather the necessary documentation and medical records and work with experts to determine causation and build a case for malpractice.
