What Are the Odds of Winning a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

Medical malpractice cases are difficult to win. The statistics show that the defendants win most cases. This means juries rule on the side of the doctor or hospital instead of the injured patient. However, these cases also frequently have weak evidence and little support for the victim. This makes having an experienced and skilled attorney on your side vital to your financial recovery.

If you suffered injuries due to a medical professional’s mistake or hospital negligence, you want a knowledgeable medical malpractice lawyer on your side.

Studies Show Half of Victims Win Medical Malpractice Lawsuits With Strong Evidence

In a review of related studies published in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, researchers examined the outcomes of medical malpractice cases over a 30-year period. The findings in these studies were consistent in showing that doctors and hospitals win up to 50 percent of medical negligence cases even when there is strong evidence to support the plaintiff’s case.

Winning percentages for plaintiffs in cases where the evidence is weak is between 10 and 20 percent. With no exceptions found in this review, the weaker the evidence to document the doctor’s negligence, the greater the likelihood that the physician or facility will win the case.

This review also looked at studies of medical malpractice settlements. In all but one of the published studies, there was a direct correlation between the strength of the evidence and the likelihood of a fair settlement.

Why Are Medical Malpractice Cases So Hard to Win?

The facts of your case may determine your odds of winning a payout, but this is not always true. It’s not the specific details of what happened but how your attorney presents those details and backs them up with credible evidence. This is often testimony from a medical expert or specialist.

Because the way the evidence is presented in your case has a significant effect on the outcome of your case, your attorney’s ability to build and present an effective case is integral.

There are several reasons why it is difficult to build a strong and convincing medical malpractice case and take it to court. This includes:

Medical Malpractice Cases Involve Complex Decisions

When building a medical malpractice case, lawyers must understand complex subjects and make the topics palatable for jurors and others involved. This is especially difficult because the negligence often occurs in the doctor’s decision-making, which does not provide any type of tangible evidence.

It can be difficult to document a careless mistake that only occurs inside the head of someone with vastly different knowledge and experience than most people.

Medical Experts Are Key to Many Cases

Hiring the right medical expert who can translate the acceptable standard of care into something jurors can understand is crucial to many medical malpractice cases. These cases require extensive expert input that may be hard to present to a jury unless you have a medical expert who can testify and has a unique gift for presenting easy-to-understand, credible testimony about a complex subject.

Jurors May Give Doctors the Benefit of the Doubt

When both sides present strong cases, jurors may give the physician the benefit of the doubt. We tend to trust our doctors and trained caregivers and not question their knowledge, authority, or skill. Of course, as a plaintiff in one of these cases, you probably did, too—until they acted negligently and caused your injuries!

You Want a Lawyer Who Can Build the Most Compelling Medical Malpractice Case

Malpractice cases are often built on medical negligence. Patients file these cases because of harm they suffered or the wrongdoing of their healthcare professional. They could involve many types of negligence, including:

• Substandard medical treatment
• Unsanitary or unsafe conditions
• Medication errors
• Serious surgical mistakes
• Birth injuries
• Misdiagnosis or other diagnostic errors
• Serious, egregious errors

The only way to prove many medical malpractice injuries occurred because of medical negligence is to show that you did not receive the same standard of care as you would have from another physician or practitioner under the same circumstances. This—and the law in most states—requires working with experts in the medical field to confirm what an acceptable standard of care would look like.

You want an attorney on your side who handles these cases frequently and consults with a network of nurses, medical professionals, and other experts regularly. You want them to have the resources and connections to hire top doctors and specialists to consult on your case and testify that malpractice occurred.

What Is Required to Win a Medical Malpractice Case?

Medical malpractice laws are complex and often have many steps to navigate before you can prepare and file a lawsuit. You may need to verify with an expert that malpractice occurred, notify the doctor and/or facility, and allow them to conduct a full pre-suit investigation into what happened.

To win a medical malpractice lawsuit, you must have convincing evidence that shows:

• You had a doctor-patient relationship with the doctor or were a patient at the hospital or clinic.
• Medical negligence occurred, documented by showing that a reasonable health care professional with similar training and experience would not have done the same thing under the circumstances.
• The negligence caused your injury, worsening illness, or loss.

Under Florida law, you have a limited time period to be able to sue a doctor or hospital for negligence (Florida Statutes § 95.11). Florida also has pre-suit requirements for notifying the doctor or hospital and taking other steps to verify you have a valid case before you file your lawsuit. This makes it essential to act quickly once you discover the malpractice.

Discuss Your Experience With a Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Our medical malpractice team at Freidin Brown, P.A., will evaluate your case with you and help you understand your rights. You may have a viable medical malpractice case, and we can help you fight for the compensation you need and deserve. Contact us now to learn more.