Why is it hard to prove medical malpractice?

It is hard to prove medical malpractice for attorneys who do not routinely practice this highly specialized area of law. Medical malpractice is not simple and “cut and dry.” Rather, it’s very technical and, because it involves science and medicine, it can be extremely complicated. Here are some reasons medical malpractice is an area of law best left to experienced medical malpractice attorneys.

There are various types of medical malpractice claims including:

• Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis
• Surgical Errors
• Prescription Drug Errors
• Failure to Treat
• Failure to Treat in a Timely Manner
• Birth Injuries

The above list describes what the doctor or other healthcare providers did wrong. (For more detailed information about each of the above claims, see .) So, there is a lot of variety in that list of common errors in the healthcare setting. But what about the variety of circumstances in which the healthcare providers can be negligent?

Here is a mere sampling of literally hundreds of different circumstances in which a healthcare provider can be negligent:

• Delayed Cancer Detection
• Surgery
• Failure to perform testing despite symptoms
• Necrotic Bone Tissue
• Delayed Treatment of Stroke
• Emergency Cesarean Section

And while the variety of contexts in which a healthcare provider can make a medical mistake vary exponentially and the types of errors healthcare providers can make also vary, imagine how much more complicated it becomes when you consider the variety of victims. From babies to senior citizens and everyone in between – with their own variability of age, biological gender, genetic predisposition, comorbidities, previous illnesses, etc. – there is absolutely no one-size-fits-all approach to the handling of their medical malpractice claim. And your experienced medical malpractice lawyer in Philadelphia knows to treat every client as the individual person that they are.

Lastly, medical malpractice law involves heavy research into past practice of medicine. While it’s wonderful that the art and science of medicine are always advancing, a medical malpractice lawyer’s focus has to be somewhat historical in nature. Indeed, what was the standard of care in a certain area of medicine ten years ago might no longer be the standard of care now. But the medical malpractice attorney needs to evaluate the medical negligence claim from the perspective of the time of the injury. For example, if the medical malpractice took place in 2020, the case will focus on what the standard of care in 2020 was – not what the current standard of care is. In that way, the medical malpractice attorney must play the role of historian as well.

No one would doubt that the practice of medicine is specialized. Nor should one doubt how specialized the practice of medical malpractice law is. For that reason, it can be difficult to prove medical malpractice unless the attorney is experienced and willing to take on the many challenges and hurdles that accompany these highly complex cases.

To find an experienced medical malpractice attorney to evaluate your case, contact VSCP Law.