An important component of a medical professional liability lawsuit is the requirement that the plaintiff prove a causal connection between a breach in the standard of care and a claimed injury. A new case from the Court of Appeal provides an excellent illustration of this concept.

When attending to a weekend surgery at the hospital, make sure you don’t find yourself all alone with too much to do. A 61-year-old patient was the only scheduled surgery on a Saturday morning, where he was to undergo an ERCP for suspected inflamed gallbladder/bile duct gallstones.

Over the past 25 years, physicians have faced a distinct change in attitudes on prescription pain medication. Policy discussions in years past to promote more liberal use of narcotics have been replaced by the current war on opioid addiction. To be sure, a physician attempting to assist a patient on long-term pain medication faces special challenges.

Even as the Medical Board of California continues to examine the drug-prescription practices of physicians, the Board often has to convince a court of its right to examine patient records. The key element in whether the courts will permit an MBC request for patient records is whether the Board adequately demonstrates “good cause” for piercing a patient’s privacy. 

To pursue a lawsuit for medical malpractice, it is not enough for a plaintiff to demonstrate that a defendant did not meet the standard of care in treating a patient and that a patient suffered a  harm. A crucial component must bridge the two — the professional breach must have caused the harm.