Diving into the Four “Ds” of Medical Malpractice
Healthcare professionals who commit medical errors resulting in the loss of life of a patient in UAE can face imprisonment for up to two years and/or a fine of up to 500,000 AED. UAE has stringent laws against medical malpractice to protect the rights of patients. Legally, the term medical malpractice refers to a healthcare professional’s act or omission deviating from the standard accepted healthcare practice.
Medicine is complex and so
are the cases of medical malpractice. Instead of working alone, you can always
work with a medical malpractice lawyer to
ascertain whether the care you received satisfies the four Ds of medical
malpractice.
Duty of Care
Medical professionals are
obliged with a duty of care. They must provide reasonable and competent
healthcare to patients and when a person is at the hospital, every medical
professional ranging from the doctor to the nurse and general staff involved in
the diagnosis or treatment owes the patient a special duty of care. Any error
or negligence in performing the duty is crucial to prove for a successful claim.
Damages
The “damages” element is fairly
clear. A patient claiming compensation based on damage must prove that the
mistake committed by the nurse, doctor, or any other healthcare professional, caused
damage. For instance, a doctor’s mistake might have led to the patient needing
further medical treatment, which means financial damage. Note that damages can
be financial, physical, or emotional and a patient can claim damage for any one
or all of these.
Deviation from Duty
Breach of or deviation
from duty is a tough and resource-intensive element to prove. To claim
compensation based on deviation from duty, a victim needs to prove that the
healthcare professional failed to meet certain standards or deviated from the
specified healthcare practices that another qualified professional would offer
under the same circumstances.
Some well-known examples
of deviation include misdiagnosing the patient, prescribing the wrong type or
dosage of medication, and making surgical mistakes. You can sue any healthcare
professional if they committed any of these errors, or committed any act or
omission that significantly deviated from the acceptable standard of duty of
care.
Direct Cause
A patient must demonstrate
that the doctor's acts were the specific reason for the harm they experienced.
Similar to the breach of duty, establishing Direct Cause is difficult and
frequently calls for the assistance of medical professionals. Healthcare
professionals may try to attribute a person's injuries to poor health
decisions, prior issues, or pre-existing medical disorders. To debunk such
objections and support plaintiffs in winning medical malpractice lawsuits,
medical negligence attorneys typically conduct thorough research and may consult
with medical specialists.
Conclusion
Once you understand your situation, ensure to consult competent medical negligence lawyers in the UAE to explore one or multiple legal avenues to obtain the compensation you deserve. If you are facing any issue related to medical malpractice or you know any medical malpractice victim who would like to understand the legal remedies afforded under the law, don’t hesitate to contact medical malpractice lawyers at Dr. Alhammadi Law Firm. Our lawyers bring claims throughout the UAE, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Our professionals can help you to identify all salient issues and help to formulate an effective case strategy.
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