Wrongful Death vs. Medical Malpractice

Incredibly, the CDC confirms that more global citizens perish each year from medical errors and poor quality healthcare services than from a lack of access to them! Each year, around 400,000 Americans are fatally injured by poor healthcare and medical malpractice.

Medical malpractice that leads to a fatality could result in a wrongful death claim.

One notable case of wrongful death due to medical malpractice is the tragic incident involving Jesica Santilian at Duke University Hospital in 2003. Jesica, a 17-year-old patient, underwent a heart and lung transplant without the medical team verifying the blood type compatibility of the donor organs. This oversight led to severe brain damage and, ultimately, her death. 

Surviving loved ones can pursue this type of legal claim to recover compensation for losses they experience after their loved one’s passing, but it can be very challenging to prove medical malpractice was the cause of your loved one’s death. To ensure you get a fair shot at justice and get an opportunity to properly grieve, it might be best to consult with a wrongful death attorney about what happened.

Here at Kermani LLP, our team of experienced lawyers is confident that you can lean on us to deliver quality results while you focus on mourning your loss and comforting other loved ones. Learn more about medical malpractice and wrongful death claims below.

What Constitutes Wrongful Death?

While every loss of life certainly feels wrongful, it takes a specific set of circumstances for a situation to rise to the legal threshold of a wrongful death. Under the law, a wrongful death happens when all the following elements are present:

• One party had a legal duty of care to provide for the care and safety of the deceased.
• The first party failed to uphold their duty of care.
• This breach of duty directly lead to the fatal injury.
• The fatality directly led to specific losses and damages for the surviving loved ones.

When all the factors above are present and you believe someone else is responsible for the death of another person, you can file a legal claim for compensation. A wrongful death claim helps the surviving loved ones cover the losses they experience because of their loss, including things like burial expenses and a loss of financial support.

In the context of a death that happens while a person is being treated by a healthcare provider, it’s important to distinguish between medical malpractice and wrongful death cases. Medical provider carelessness that leads to a medical injury would result in a medical malpractice claim, whereas a situation that results in a fatality would lead to a wrongful death case.

The Legal Elements of Medical Malpractice

A medical malpractice death lawsuit is inevitably going to be very complex. For one, your loved one likely had a medical condition or injury that they were seeking out treatment for to begin with, and for another, doctors are typically considered extremely honest and trustworthy. These factors can make it very difficult to prove that it was your healthcare provider’s negligence that led to the fatality and not your loved one’s preexisting problem.

To prove a breach of duty occurred, you’ll need to produce evidence that your healthcare provider acted in a way that was outside of the reasonable standard of care that another provider with similar experience and qualifications would have provided. As you can imagine, producing this type of proof is extremely difficult.

Depending on your case, you might need the help of an expert medical witness who can testify on your behalf regarding the reasonable standard of care and how your provider’s treatment would be considered a breach in their duty of care toward you. The right attorney will help you connect with these types of experts.

Comparing Wrongful Death and Medical Malpractice

Medical negligence happens when a doctor or healthcare provider acts outside of the reasonable standard of care when treating a patient. In a medical malpractice case, this medical negligence results in an injury to the patient. The injury could lead to other losses, like lost wages and pain and suffering. In a wrongful death medical malpractice situation, the negligence results in a fatality. The surviving loved ones would pursue the claim and get compensation for burial expenses, a loss of financial support, and similar losses.

Common Scenarios Involving Wrongful Death

Wrongful death situations can arise in many situations outside of medical malpractice. The most common scenario is when a car accident leads to a fatality. Other situations include cases where an injury leads to death due to a defective product, a safety issue on someone’s property, or a fall from a height.

Examples of Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice leads to an injury to a patient but not always a fatality. Common examples of an accident that could lead to a medical malpractice claim include:

• Medication mistakes
• Anesthesia errors
• Mistakes during surgery
• Misdiagnosis
• Delayed diagnosis
• Failure to diagnose
• Failure to provide an adequate treatment plan

Intersection of Wrongful Death and Medical Malpractice

When looking at wrongful death vs medical malpractice cases, the two types of claims are very similar. The main difference between the two claims is that a wrongful death claim involves a fatality that occurred as a result of medical malpractice or something else, and a medical malpractice claim involves an injury that occurred as a result of a medical error.

In a medical malpractice wrongful death case, you need to prove both elements — that a wrongful death occurred, and that medical malpractice was the direct cause.

Filing a Claim: Who Can Sue?

Considering how jarring a fatality is, it makes sense to consult with local personal injury attorneys with wrongful death claim experience as soon as possible. The right lawyer will help answer your questions based on your specific situation, which will be far better than generic advice that doesn’t take into account your unique circumstances. That said, you should be able to file a claim if the loved one who passed away was your spouse, parent, child, close relative, significant other, or you’re representing their estate.

Compensation and Damages

The damages suffered in a wrongful death situation are often substantial. Not only will the responsible person be responsible for the economic damage caused by the loss, like the medical bills incurred and a loss of financial support for the family, but they will also be responsible for the non-economic losses, like pain and suffering endured by the grieving family. While you may be entitled to this compensation, it will be up to you to pursue the legal claim.

Seeking Legal Help

Seeking out a claim for compensation for injuries that were fatal to your loved one can be extremely difficult in your time of grief. That’s one of many reasons why most individuals seeking out a survival claim will hire a wrongful death lawyer to handle the legal aspects of their case for them. Seeking out legal help will not only help you identify all your legal options, but it will also assist you in properly valuing your claim, negotiating with the other party, and securing a reasonable settlement.

Our experienced Ohio medical malpractice attorneys from Kermani LLP have been fighting for justice in similar situations for our clients for over 13 years. We’re confident that we can provide you with reliable legal advice on how to move forward after your loss.

Schedule a consultation with our office now to learn more about your options and rights.