An important element of a medical malpractice case is proving a doctor or healthcare facility had a duty of care and subsequently breached it. Without that element, it's nearly impossible for a medical malpractice case to go forward. Here is a look at what duty of care means in a medical malpractice case.

What Is Duty of Care in Medical Malpractice Cases?

A duty of care means someone has a legal and professional responsibility to conduct their duty in a reasonable way. When you walk into a medical facility, a duty of care becomes established. Technically, everyone in the facility who you interact with will have a duty of care towards you. People with a duty towards you can include:

• The doctors you see
• The staff you speak with
• The owner or operators of the facility
• Any others connected to professionally administering a service to you

You can typically prove a duty of care existed with records of your visits, such as bills, paperwork, emails, or anything signed by the doctor.

What Is a Breach of Duty in Medical Malpractice Cases?

Duty of care implies a certain set of rules, regulations, guidelines, and standards that medical professionals and their staff must adhere to. A breach of duty occurs if a doctor or staff cause harm by intentionally or negligently veering from those implied standards of medical care.

Outside of obvious examples of negligence and the more common types of medical malpractice, there are a lot of ways a doctor or facility can say they did not violate their duty of care. Many medical and healthcare procedures are straightforward. They will have established steps and information that any doctor or facility will reasonably follow.

A breach can occur if a doctor intentionally skips a step or performs a procedure in a way that goes against established norms. This can lead to an injury and a medical malpractice case because that breach shows a level of negligence.

Nevertheless, some procedures aren't as straightforward or they come from facilities that don't have the proper authority to perform them. These situations give the doctor or facility room to say they did not commit medical malpractice and your injury came about as a reasonable possibility.

For these and many other reasons, if you suspect medical malpractice caused your injury or created serious complications for you, consult with a medical malpractice law firm immediately. A medical malpractice lawyer can help you figure out if a breach of duty occurred and what steps you can take towards claiming the compensation you need to deal with it.